When Was The Last Day To Register To Vote In Gates County Nc Primary

DOBSON — The first day of a candidate filing period usually is accompanied by much activity, which was the case this week in Dobson.

"We had a very busy day in the Surry County Board of Elections (office) with 14 individuals filing for office," county Director of Elections Michella Huff announced late Monday. That was the first day those seeking various local seats in Mount Airy and elsewhere in Surry officially could toss their hats into the ring for the 2022 election season.

However, one of those filing, Will Pfitzner — a candidate for a North Ward seat on the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners — has since withdrawn from the race.

Joanna Refvem also has filed to run as North Ward commissioner.

Meanwhile, three people who had announced their intentions to campaign for mayor also filed Monday: Jon Cawley, Teresa Lewis and the man now occupying that office, Ron Niland.

Cawley, 59, the longest-tenured member of the city council who has served since 2008, had announced in July that he intended to run for Mount Airy's top elected position while making it clear he thinks Niland is doing a good job.

His decision to run for mayor dates to when David Rowe, who formerly held that position, resigned because of health reasons in October 2020.

Cawley has said he wants to have a different role in city government. While the mayor has no vote in its actions — except to break a tie — one thing that person can do is "tell our story," Cawley said in July. The mayor serves as the face of the city and is its most-visible representative, he believes.

Niland, 66, made an official announcement that he would run for mayor during a council meeting last Thursday and followed up on that with his filing Monday.

"This is a transformative time in our city's history," Niland said Thursday, adding that he wants to continue the "great work" already begun and be part of Mount Airy's vision concerning a number of projects.

Lewis also declared her mayoral candidacy months ago.

A former at-large commissioner in Mount Airy, she is a retired local businesswoman long associated with the WorkForce Unlimited staffing firm.

Lewis, 63, has listed her past experience in city government — including playing a key role in launching its recycling program about 10 years ago — as reasons that make her qualified to be in public office again.

She also has served on the boards of various community organizations over the years.

The filing of the three candidates Monday will force a primary in March for mayor of Mount Airy. This is required when three or more candidates seek a particular office.

Elections in Mount Airy are non-partisan.

Commissioner race

Since Cawley is not allowed to run for office and the commissioner seat he now holds, this has opened the door for others to file in the North Ward — where Cawley never faced opposition in three re-election bids.

And Pfitzner and Refvem wasted no time doing so on Monday when the candidates' filing period opened at noon.

But Pfitzner, 28, said Tuesday that his candidacy is short-lived and he would be withdrawing his name from the proceedings sometime this week.

"I didn't know that Joanna would be filing," he said of Refvem, one of his neighbors on Montclaire Drive and a friend of Pfitzner's family.

"I truly believe that Joanna will do a great job," Pfitzner said while indicating he did not want to campaign against someone so close.

The owner of a business called LazerEdge Designs, his reasons for seeking public office included adding a different element to city government.

"I wanted to bring youth into the leadership," said Pfitzner, who signaled that he is only postponing his plans for now. "I will be running for some type of city leadership in the future."

Refvem, 67, a semi-retired counselor at Mount Airy High School, mentioned Tuesday that her family has lived in this city since 1996. And she wants to do something to help "the community that has been so good to us," the candidate said.

She has no particular concern about city government activities which is motivating the bid for office.

"I have absolutely no agenda at this point," said Refvem, who plans to gauge citizens' concerns and how she might help if elected. "I think I want to be a good student of the community."

Other filings

Candidates for partisan county offices also filed Monday, including:

• Surry Sheriff Steve Hiatt, 58, a Republican who will be campaigning for his second term in the office he was elected to in 2018;

• Incumbent Clerk of Court Neil Brendle, 45, who also is seeking a second-straight term on the GOP ticket;

• A challenger to Brendle, fellow Republican Melissa Marion Welch, 41, of Dobson;

• Walter D. Harris, 68, who filed to run for a Mount Airy District seat on the Surry County Board of Commissioners now held by first-term incumbent and fellow Republican Bill Goins;

• Tessa Saeli, 48, a resident of Elkin who is seeking the South District seat on the county board of longtime incumbent Eddie Harris (both are Republicans);

• A Democratic incumbent on the Surry County Board of Education, Mamie M. Sutphin, 44, of Pilot Mountain, who represents District 2 on that board;

• Brent Long, 56, also a resident of Pilot Mountain, who is a Republican seeking to unseat Sutphin;

• Jessica George, 33, of Siloam, a Republican seeking to fill the District 3 county school board seat recently vacated by Early Coe;

• Republican T.J. Bledsoe, 40, a Dobson resident running for the District 4 seat on the Surry County Board of Education now occupied by Terri Mosley, the board's chairman.

The candidates' filing period ends at noon on Dec. 17.

Tom Joyce may be reached at 336-415-4693 or on Twitter @Me_Reporter.