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|  |  Commissioners will see new faces following primary By ERIC FRAZIER Republican voters in Tuesday’s primary sent two of the three incumbents running for re-election to the November ballot. The other two spots go to two of the four Hege-endorsed candidates in a tight race that was characterized by seven of the 12 candidates having only 3 percent of the votes separating them. Commissioners Chairman Larry Potts did not seek re-election to the commissioners, opting to run instead for the Davidson County Board of Education, so his seat was assured to a newcomer. Voters also chose four Democrat challengers to face the GOP slate in November as 21,944 Davidson County voters went to the polls for a primary election that was delayed by legal challenges for four months. Incumbents Cindy Akins and Rick Lanier will be on the November ballot with Don Truell and Sam Watford. Incumbent Fred McClure ended up fifth in the voting, but by a margin that should guarantee a recount. Even if he prevailed, the result would still be two incumbents and two new faces in the general election. Akins garnered 5,014 votes. During her campaign, Akins, a commissioner since 1998, emphasized the tough decisions she and the current board had made in the face of tight budgets caused by state budget cuts. The 38-year-old resident of the Pilot community works as an administrative aide for a church, and operates her own business consulting firm. “I had a lot of good workers, and a lot of help,” said Akins. “Apparently I’ve done a fairly good job,” she added. Lanier campaigned on moral issues as well as economic development, education and law enforcement. He has served one term as a commissioner. The 49-year-old Tyro resident is a real estate developer and builder. He came in fourth place with 4,546 votes. “The thing that made me one of the four top finishers was hard work and good organization,” said Lanier. He had between 70 and 80 supporters working Tuesday at 28 precincts in the county. Incumbent McClure, 60, who first won a commissioner’s seat in 1994, finished with 4,543 votes, just three votes shy of Lanier’s total. “If at 11 a.m. on Thursday, I am still eligible to call for a recount, I will do so,” McClure said Wednesday morning. Recounts may be requested if a candidate loses by less than 1 percentage point. McClure ran on a record of conservative principles combined with some innovative approaches to make local government more efficient. He cited his work in starting North Carolina’s first program that allows taxpayers to make payments on the Internet, his support of a scholarship fund to attract residents to return to the county to teach after graduation, and his work to secure grants for county programs during tight budget times. McClure was the first commissioner to openly endorse the inclusion of the Martin Luther King holiday to the list of those observed by the county McClure owns an insurance agency in Lexington. Sam Watford of Thomasville, in his first bid for a commissioner’s seat, was the top vote-getter for the Republicans with 5,450 votes. Watford was endorsed by Sheriff Hege. “I’m new to politics and Sheriff Hege has helped me a whole lot,” Watford said. “You could say I’m taking what we call ‘Politics 101.’” The 49-year-old grading and utilities contractor serves on the county planning and zoning board. Watford’s campaign theme is “less tax is good government, and less government is better government.” Don Truell, a veteran politician from Thomasville garnered 4,886 votes in his first partisan race. Truell has served as mayor of Thomasville as well as the city’s police chief. “All of my previous posts have been nonpartisan,” Truell said. “I believe the support from Sheriff Hege helped me,” he added, but he said he had many friends in both political parties and expected to do well with Democrats in November. In the Democratic primary, Max Walser, the retired Davidson County Schools superintendent, led the way with 6,565 votes. “When the Democratic party recruited me to run, I said I would be no part of negative campaigning,” Walser said. “We intend to keep things on a high plane. I believe you can debate the issues and walk out the door still friends.” Walser has pledged to make economic development his number one priority. Building the tax base through industrial recruitment is the only way to assure the county of the funds needed to educate children and provide services to senior citizens, Walser has said. The 62-year-old resident of the Arnold Road area has cited his management of the county school’s $100 million budget and supervision of 2,300 employees as the track record qualifying him to serve as a commissioner. Lifelong educator Loretta Martin, who has campaigned on education and work force development as the keys to the county’s quality of life, finished second with 5,445 votes. Martin, 65, a business teacher for more than 21 years, also has many years of government experience as administrator of the $30 million School-to-Work program that worked with 77 local programs across the state. Watson Gregg, 62, former chairman of the Democratic Party, received 4,499 votes. He has operated a tire business in Lexington for over 30 years, and has based his campaign on taking that business experience into the commissioner’s job. Gregg has promised to spend taxpayer dollars wisely and run county government more efficiently. Charles Kennedy Jr., one of the youngest candidates on either side of the ballot, picked up 3,588 votes to gain the fourth Democrat spot on the November ballot. Kennedy works in his family business, Kennedy Ditching and Hauling. He has campaigned on the property tax revaluation issue as well as economic development. All vote totals are unofficial until the official canvass on Thursday. Voters in the general election will also see a Libertarian commission candidate. Stephen Nelson from Arcadia, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, now employed as a nurse-anesthetist at Forsyth Memorial Hospital in Winston-Salem, will be on the ballot. Eric Frazier can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 226, or at eric.frazier@the-dispatch.com. |
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