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Davidson
Davidson County Weblinks
Official County Websites
• Davidson County Government Website
• Davidson sample ballot (PDF)
• Contact info for Davidson Elections Board
Featured Stories
• Race For Davidson Board
is experience vs. diversity
Oct. 14, 2004
When Davidson County residents go to the polls Nov. 2, they will have their choice of seven candidates to fill three seats on the board of commissioners - and the possibility of a board that looks very much like it did four years ago.
• Candidate Is Barred From Schools,
Even For Fact-finding, Official Says
Aug. 3, 2004
When Greg Evans - a Wake Forest University senior and candidate for Davidson County board of education - asked Davidson County high-school and middle-school principals if he might drop in to talk to teachers during the handful of workdays before a new school year begins, he never imagined he would be turned down.
Archived Coverage
• Snyder Believes In 'Logical' Tactics
Republican challenger for Lieutenant Governor
says he is for 'common sense' solutions
Oct. 22, 2004
Jim Snyder is the third Davidson County resident to run for governor or lieutenant governor.
• Voting the Easy, Early Way
One-stop, no-excuse polling station stays busy
as hundreds use electronic touch screens
Oct. 15, 2004
In Davidson County, a line of eight to 20 people waited to first sign their application for an absentee ballot, then head to one of six voting machines set up at the county board of elections.
• Plan Will Fix Voting Snafu
Registrants who used outdated forms
to get correct ones in mail
Aug. 28, 2004
An unknown number of people unknowingly filled out outdated voter-registration forms. Ruth Huneycutt, the elections director for Davidson County, said she recently found some outdated forms in her own car, where she always keeps a few forms handy.
• Recount Adds 1 Vote, Affirms Mcclure Win
GOP candidates For Davidson Board set
July 30, 2004
• Commissioner wants recount
of close finish in Davidson race
July 29, 2004
Candidate Profiles
Davidson board has three openings
COMPILED BY LAURA GIOVANELLI
Voters will fill three of the seven seats on the Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 2. Republicans have dominated the board for at least the past 18 years, but Democrats hope that the foothold they gained by winning one seat two years ago means voters are willing to change that.
One incumbent, current board chairman Fred Sink, and two former commissioners, Larry Potts and Fred McClure, are the Republican nominees. Three Democrats — Loretta Martin, Charles Mode and Alton Futrell — and one Libertarian, Stuart Britt Sr., are opposing them.
Clarence Loflin, Joseph Shaffner and Rodney Smith are running for Davidson Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor.
Norman Hunt and G. Keith Loflin are running for two seats on the Handy Sanitary District Supervisor.
Stuart Douglas Britt Sr.
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Libertarian
Home Address: 1361 Boones Cave Road, Lexington
Date of birth: May 3, 1963
Education: A.A.S., Davidson County Community College; B.S. in mechanical engineering, UNC Charlotte.
Occupation: Power-distribution engineer
Family: Married with three sons
Political experience: None
What makes you best qualified: I believe that America is heading to the rise of a third party. I have blazed many paths in my life and would be honored to help with this one also. My qualification is my enthusiasm to see government as it should. I am not a politician. I am a statesman.
Top priorities if elected: We need a ward system in Davidson County so that we have a more representative government. We need to invoke the concept that privatized education and offer a competitive alternative to the current education system. I support eliminating corporate and business taxes. We need to work toward the concept of a consumption tax.
Alton “Al” Futrell
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Democrat
Home address: 314 Devonshire Drive, Davidson County
Date of birth: Nov. 18, 1939
Education: Wallace-Rose Hill High School; East Carolina University; Davidson County Community College
Occupation: Real-estate broker and auctioneer. I have owned and operated Al’s Auction & Realty for 28 years.
Family: Married with two daughters, two stepdaughters and 10 grandchildren
Political experience: Running for first public office
What makes you best qualified: I have 40 years of business experience with knowledge in retail, wholesale, insurance, auctioneer and real estate, which gives me a good base to help our citizens with their needs. I have the desire to serve our citizens of Davidson County and will bring a common-sense approach to many issues.
Top priority if elected: I support incentives for small businesses to increase employment and enforcement of a drug-free environment in our society and our schools. I want to help our students build character, educational and trade skills, as well as good morals to help prepare them for the future. I want to eliminate government waste to keep our taxes low.
Loretta M. Martin
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Democrat
Home address: 2897 Upper Lake Road, Thomasville
Date of birth: March 1, 1937
Education: Pilot High School, High Point University, B.S. in business administration; UNC Greensboro, M.Ed. in business education
Occupation: Education consultant
Family: Married with two children and four grandchildren
Political experience: Elected to Davidson County Board of Education in 1980 — served one term
What makes you best qualified: I’ve been a teacher and administrator in the public schools in the area of work-force development for over 30 years. I have written and administered grants up to $30 million as state director of School to Work while in the governor’s office in the 1990s.
Top priority if elected: My top priority as county commissioner would be job creation. I would propose adding a person at the county level whose job would be to help people who want to start their own businesses. We must continue to offer incentives to companies looking to locate in Davidson County.
Fred McClure
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Republican
Home address: 387 Bryan Woods Lane, Lexington
Date of birth: Feb. 14, 1942
Occupation: President, McClure Insurance Group
Family: Widower with two adult children
Political experience: Former member, Davidson County Board of Commissioners
What makes you best qualified: I have proven leadership. I have served on the Davidson County Board of Commissioners, losing re-election by nine votes. I have extensive volunteer service that has given me a broad view of the citizens and community needs. As a commissioner, I contributed tax-dollar-saving ideas, increased funding to education 32 percent and without increasing taxes.
Top priority if elected: My top priority will be job creation through economic development. Davidson County citizens need jobs. That means keeping taxes low and further improving educational standards. Low taxes and quality education attract industry and jobs. It also means promotion of the county and effective presentation of our great quality of life.
Charles W. Mode
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Democrat
Home address: 2895 Enterprise Road, Lexington
Date of birth: Jan. 13, 1941
Education: Davidson County Schools
Occupation: Retired, former owner of Mode Hauling and Grading
Family: Wife, two grown daughters
Political experience: None
What makes you best qualified: With over 44 years of experience in a large company and in building my own grading business, I understand how we create jobs. I will work hard to make the changes necessary to improve the quality of life for all residents.
Top priority if elected: I support the current efforts to attract large industrial employers, but want to see more done to encourage small business development. We must educate our citizens (children and adults) to their fullest potential, and offer incentives to companies that will locate here.
Larry W. Potts
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Republican
Home address: 373 Waltman Road, Lexington, NC 27295
Date of birth: Sept. 14, 1948
Education: West Davidson High School, 1966; Davidson County Community College, Spokane Community College, Inland Empire School of the Bible, Avco Business Management School
Occupation: Building contractor, real-estate developer, investor and owner of Southland Construction and Investment Inc.
Family: Married with three children
Political experience: Davidson County Commissioners, 1994 to 2002 — seven of those years as board chairman. What makes you best qualified: I have eight years experience including seven years as chairman. During those years, we actively recruited both national and international businesses. I led the way in purchasing and to build five new schools, all the while maintaining sound government and the lowest tax rate of any county our size.
Top priority if elected: I support recruiting new industry and expanding existing industries as well as putting school construction back on track after it was placed on hold by the current board of commissioners.
Fred C. Sink
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Republican
Home address: 106 Bremen Drive, Lexington
Date of birth: Aug. 29, 1932
Education: Pilot High School, attended Lees-McRae College
Occupation: Retired
Family: Married with four daughters
Political experience: Former Davidson County sheriff, U.S. marshal, employee with the N.C. Department of Correction
What makes you best qualified: Having been associated with government for the last 30 years, of which eight of those were as a county commissioner, is a great asset to have for experience to do this job.
Top priority if elected: Eight years ago when I was elected commissioner, I made a very strong commitment to support education and economic development. I feel I have fulfilled that promise and want to continue.
Two newcomers face three incumbents for Davidson school board
COMPILED BY LAURA GIOVANELLI
Three of five nonpartisan seats on the Davidson County Board of Education are at stake Nov. 2. Newcomers Greg Evans and Karen Craver are running against incumbents Alan Beck, Kenny Meredith and Allan Thompson.
Alan Beck
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Nonpartisan
Home address: 3 Heritage Court, Thomasville
Date of birth: Dec. 18, 1961
Education: B.S. in social work, Western Carolina University, 1985
Occupation: Deliveryman for Hill’s Produce Co.
Family: Married with three children
Political experience: Serving four-year term on the Davidson County Board of Education
What makes you best qualified: I have been involved with the schools from the PTSA to committees with the administration office. I have a child in each of the three levels of school. All decisions I make will affect my children as well as myself. I also have pride in our school system and I want to see it excel.
Top priority if elected: My top priority would be to continue the building of new schools. Overcrowding of schools creates a stressful environment for students and faculty alike. Overcrowding puts pressure on services, individual help and stress on the core facilities. Teacher retention and student dropout rate would be a very close second concern.
Karen T. Craver
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Nonpartisan
Home address: 477 William Craver Lane, Lexington
Date of birth: May 9, 1960
Education: Denton High School; B.S. Biology, Guilford College; medical technology degree Bowman Gray School of Medicine; M.A. health-care administration, UNC Chapel Hill
Occupation: Director of research services for hematology and oncology at Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Family: Married for 25 years and a mother of three children
Political experience: None
What makes you best qualified: I feel that I understand the challenges of both the small and large school. I decided to become a candidate for the board of education due to my interest with my own children’s education and the problems that face schools and parents.
Top priority if elected: We must be able to employ and keep teachers, staff and administrators of excellence in order to obtain the most achievement from our students. We should examine why personnel leave and find ways to retain those of high quality. We must create an environment that is conducive to the support of teachers’ concerns between administration, the board and parents.
Gregory Kyle Evans
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Nonpartisan
Home address: 3033 Arnold Rd, Lexington, NC 27295
Date of birth: Oct.19, 1982
Education: Pursuing a B.S. in political science with a minor in psychology, Wake Forest University
Occupation: Student
Family: Single
Political experience: This is my first of hopefully many elections.
What makes you best qualified: I feel that I am best qualified for this office because I bring a new perspective to the board. It has been 30 or more years since some of the current members have sat in a classroom. Being a recent graduate, and a current student, I bring a different viewpoint on some issues.
Top priority if elected: I want to make the board more open; the people of the county deserve answers when they have questions. I want the teachers and parents to know that their voices will be heard. Too many people have gone to this board only to leave feeling ignored, I promise to be more open and give people answers.
Kenneth “Kenny” D. Meredith
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Nonpartisan
Home Address: 220 Meredith Lane, Winston Salem, NC 27107
Date of birth: Dec. 29, 1953
Education: Davidson County Schools; Appalachian State University, Guilford Technical Community College, and Valencia Community College
Occupation: president, Rymco Inc., commercial real estate, property development and management
Family: Married with three adult children
Political experience: Elected 1996 and 2000 to Davidson County Board of Education
What makes you best qualified: I believe that I have the experience, energy, enthusiasm and interest to continue the progress we have made educationally in Davidson County. I believe the board of education has in large part set the attitude and atmosphere for the district’s success, and I can help continue that success.
Top Priority if elected: My priorities will continue to be student and staff safety, academic achievement, providing adequate classroom space and facilities, teacher and staff retention, and using technology as an effective teaching tool while making sure the basics are the heart of every day’s teaching and learning.
Allan E. Thompson
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Nonpartisan
Home address: 2622 W. Center St. Ext., Lexington, NC 27295
Date of birth: June 14, 1942
Education: B.S. and M.A. in school administration, Appalachian State University
Occupation: Retired principal, teacher and coach; employee at Davidson Funeral Home
Family: Married with two children and six grandchildren.
Republican, Libertarian compete for seat in N.C. House District 73
COMPILED BY WES YOUNG
Mayor Larry Brown of Kernersville defeated incumbent Rep. Michael Decker in the July 20 Republican primary, but that didn’t automatically put Brown in the N.C. General Assembly.
No Democrat opposes Brown. In the 73rd House District, the GOP has 52 per-cent of the registered voters, compared to 31 percent for the Democrats.
Brown must get past Libertarian candidate Michael Smith of Davidson County before he can claim a seat in the House.
Smith has run for office two times before. In 2000, he contested the 38th District in the N.C. Senate and received 11 percent of the vote in a two-way race with Stan Bingham, a Republican. In 1998 Smith received 2 percent of the vote in a three-way contest in which incumbent Rep. Mel Watt was re-elected with 56 percent of the vote.
The district covers eastern Forsyth County.
Larry R. Brown
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Republican
Home Address: 311 Salisbury Street, No. 22, Kernersville
Date of birth: Feb. 9, 1943
Education: B.A., Central Wesleyan College (now Southern Wesleyan University)
Occupation: retired from U.S. Postal Service; mayor of Kernersville
Family: married with two children
Political experience: Kernersville alderman for 11 years, mayor for seven years
What makes you best qualified: I have served as an elective official for 18 years. I have been active in economic development locally and have been associated internationally with the countries of Taiwan and Russia trying to expand business opportunities to foreign markets. I have represented the Triad area as a progressive region for new manufacturing and distribution center for foreign investors. I have been supportive for the FedEx hub by speaking to various agen-cies. During my tenure as mayor, 2,000 new jobs have located in Kernersville.
Top priority if elected: My top priorities are the three “E’s” — education, the economy and efficiency of government. I believe we must have a quality educational system with well-paid teachers dedicated to providing quality education. We must provide free work-force training to the unemployed at local com-mu-nity colleges. Economically, we must lower the tax rates to attract new businesses and retain the ones we have. We must make government efficient.
Michael Smith
(Click name to read full profile)
Party: Libertarian
Home address: 422 Rolling Green Drive, Winston-Salem
Date of birth: Dec. 12, 1962
Education: B.A., English, UNC Greensboro, 1984
Occupation: Modular-home sales consultant
Family: Married with one child
Political experience: chairman of the Davidson County Libertarian Party; ran for U.S. House in 1998 and N.C. Senate in 2000
What makes you best qualified: I represent something other than the status quo. I educate myself on the issues and use a philosophy of “that which governs best, governs least.” More government equals less freedom. It’s time more elected officials understood that.
Top priority if elected: The number one priority of a state representative is to be a good steward of the people’s money. That’s why I have endorsed the Freedom Budget, an alternative budget designed by the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh. I will introduce this plan, which restores some fiscal sanity to the budget mess we currently have
Davidson County Elections Contact Info
• Ruth Huneycutt, Director
53 W. Whitehead St.
PO Box 1084
Lexington, NC 27293
Phone: 336-242-2190
Fax:
336-242-2199
Email: rhuneycu@co.davidson.nc.us