The election is on

All the signs point to an ordinary municipal election for this year despite the problems being caused by late reporting by the U.S. Census.

The Wake County Board of Elections has set July 2 through July 16 as filing period for candidates for those towns or cities which do not have election districts – Wake Forest is one of those – and the general election will be November 2, the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

For those municipalities with voting districts – Raleigh, Cary and Morrisville in Wake County – their elections will be next spring after the census officials have released more detailed population numbers so they can set their district boundaries with close to equal populations. There are more than 500 municipalities in North Carolina but only 60-some have voting districts, which is probably why the General Assembly leaders are not going to force that majority to change their election dates.

July may seem on the horizon and November is distant, but the potential candidates in Wake Forest should already have determined that they want to run, that they have substantial backing from Wake Forest residents who are also willing to contribute money and/or time, and that they have a campaign treasurer ready to go.

Two women have already made those determinations. Mayor Vivian Jones is eager to ask for a sixth term as mayor, Liz Simpers is ready to run for a second term. Commissioiner Bridget Wall-Lennon has indicated she will try for a second term but she could not be reached this week for confirmation.

Wake Forest elections are nonpartisan. To file, the mayoral candidates pay $50 to the Wake County Board of Elections and the commissioner candidates each pay $15. Currently the mayor has an annual salary of $10,000 and the commissioners are paid $8,000 each.

So, will there be contests for the position of mayor and the two commissioner seats? Please let the Gazette know as soon as you are ready to declare yourself a candidate.

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