Eligible citizens may petition to run for local office
Published 9:34 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Any qualified voter in Tyrrell County, who was not a candidate in the March primary, may file a petition by June 24 to run for county commissioner or register of deeds in the November general election.
Democratic candidates chosen last March to fill three seats on the Tyrrell County Board of Commissioners are incumbents Tommy Everett and Carl Willis and former commissioner Lawrence Swain. Incumbent Democrat Larry G. Hill did not seek a third term. No Republicans or Libertarians filed for commissioner.
Democrat Gene P. Reynolds is running unopposed for her first full term as register of deeds. She was assistant register when the county commissioners appointed her to succeed Melanie Armstrong who retired in June 2014.
Unaffiliated candidates must file a petition signed by four percent of the registered voters to qualify for a place on the November ballot. That means a minimum of 97 valid signatures, but elections director Debbie Swain urges petitioners to obtain several extra signatures in the event some who signed were not actually registered voters.
More information on petition filing is available at www.ncsbe.gov/petition-info.