School-board races evolve

Published 11:58 pm Friday, February 19, 2010

By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer

A woman who has sued the Beaufort County Board of Education over the suspension of her daughter has filed to run for the District 4 school-board seat.
Chocowinity resident Revondia Harvey Barrow said she has never run for office before and that she’s seeking a school-board slot “to bring about change.”
She said she has two children in the school system.
Barrow is a party to a lawsuit filed over the suspension of her daughter. The case is scheduled to go before the N.C. Supreme Court next month, the Washington Daily News has reported.
The District 4 seat has attracted two hopefuls — Barrow and retired Army soldier William Reed of Chocowinity.
At present, the District 4 seat is held by William Warren, who had yet to file at last report.
As of late Thursday morning, Warren was the only school-board member attracting challengers so far in the filing period, in which candidates statewide sign up to run for office.
The filing period began at noon Feb. 8 and ends at noon Feb. 26.
Up this year are school-board seats in Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8.
Also having filed are incumbent school-board members E.C. Peed of Aurora, Teressa Banks of Washington and Cindy Winstead of Bath.
None of those three incumbents had opposition as of Thursday afternoon.
School-board candidates won’t participate in the May 4 primary elections because their seats are nonpartisan.
These candidates will face off in the Nov. 2 general election.
In other filing news, Washington Republican Greg Dority announced that he has decided to run against U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C.
Watt’s District 12 snakes through the west-central part of the state, spanning the distance from Winston-Salem southeast to High Point and angling down through Charlotte.
Dority had said he planned to take on U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., but changed his mind when B.J. Lawson, a better-funded GOP standard-bearer, entered the fray.
“I cannot beat B.J. Lawson in the 4th District,” Dority told the Daily News. “He raised half a million dollars last time.”
Lawson lost to Price in 2008.
“We’re committed to not letting any of these Democratic incumbents get a free ride in this election,” Dority commented.
Dority doesn’t live anywhere near Watt’s district, but the Republican has pointed out that one need not live in the congressional district in which he chooses to run.
Dority has run unsuccessfully for three high offices, including two congressional posts.
In 2008, he tried his hand at becoming the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, but came in last in a four-way race.
Watt, first elected to the House in 1992, had around $200,000 cash on hand at the end of the last reporting period, campaign reports show.
Among other developments in congressional contests, the State Board of Elections’ Web site shows that Washington Republican Ashley Woolard will have two candidates to compete with in the congressional District 1 GOP primary.
Woolard is gunning for incumbent U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., of Wilson. Butterfield represents roughly half of Beaufort County, along with other northeastern counties, including Martin and Washington counties.
The state board’s Web site reveals that Jerry Grimes of Goldsboro and John Carter of Wilson also have filed, ensuring that Woolard will have primary opposition.
In more local news, Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons has announced that he’s seeking re-election.
Last year, Sermons was appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to replace retiring Judge William Griffin, a news release reads.
Sermons practiced civil, criminal and municipal law for 29 years prior to being appointed to the bench, the release shows.
Whether Sermons would have opposition was unknown as of Thursday afternoon.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Beaufort, Martin, Washington, Tyrrell, and Hyde (counties) as Superior Court Judge for these five months,” Sermons says in the release. “I now am asking these same citizens to elect me to this position.”
In still more developments, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Jones of Washington has entered the race to replace retiring District Court Judge Sam Grimes.
So far, Grimes’ declared retirement has prompted three Washington residents to run for the position — Jones and attorneys Sonia Privette and Darrell Cayton.
Washington attorney Watsi Sutton also had said she would run for the seat, but she hadn’t filed as of late Thursday morning, according to the state board’s Web site.