Graham County Board of Elections reaffirmed
Robbinsville – It has been a very productive stretch recently for the Graham County Board of Elections.
Finally cozy in its offices at the Graham County Community Building (196 Knight St.; the election board is located in Suite A), the board is ready to oversee its first municipal elections at the new location.
On the docket in November is the two smallest incorporated areas in Graham County: Fontana Dam and Lake Santeetlah, which operate on 2-year cycles.
The Town of Robbinsville is on a 4-year plan, but has a staggered location in the rotation; its last election was in 2021, which ushered in a new mayor and the approval of beer and wine sales within city limits.
Candidates for Fontana and Santeetlah had a window of July 7-21 to throw their names in the hat and all told, 11 responded. Each were certified at the board of elections’ special-called Monday meeting:
* Fontana Dam: Rob Hardy (Incumbent, Mayor); Joshua Grant (Incumbent, Council Member); and Tracy Williams, who last served on the council in late-2019;
* Lake Santeetlah: Alan Davidson; Tina Emerson (Incumbent; also the town’s finance officer); Chris Griggs; Connie Gross (Incumbent, Mayor); Kevin Haag; Jim Hager (Incumbent); Diana Simon (Incumbent); and Ralph Strunk. Both towns implement five-member councils. Fontana Dam has struggled to maintain the status quo throughout the pandemic, with members leaving and joining at a rapid pace in a town that is 99.9 percent comprised of employees for the municipality’s only source of industry: Fontana Village Resort and Marina.
Thus, as workforce changes, so does the seats on the council. Recent stability has seen Rachel Wachacha join the ranks; Grant was appointed earlier this year. Along with Wachacha, the other incumbent – Tiffany Duke – did not file for re-election, but the council could easily reappoint both after Nov. 7.
Meanwhile, Lake Santeetlah’s council has been rocky the last several years. In fact, there are seven voter challenges still to be heard from the fallout of the 2021 election, which resulted in three new members being voted onto the board from a high turnout.
The results raised enough eyebrows that Simon and Hager both filed challenges against eight different voters who the two alleged did not live in Lake Santeetlah – mostly a retirement community – on a “full-time” basis and thus, should not have been allowed to vote.
To date, only one challenge has been heard: that of Emerson. The Sept. 28, 2022 hearing eclipsed the 10-hour mark, but ultimately resulted in the board of elections dismissing the challenge on the merit of a state statute that stipulates a voter in North Carolina must only declare an “intention” to reside in a particular county to switch their registration.
The outcome was appealed and will now move to a higher court, but a date has not been set.
At least one new face will be on the council after November, as incumbent Ralph Mitchell did not file for re-election. The 93-year-old Mitchell is believed to be the oldest person to serve on a municipal council in North Carolina history.
Members sworn in
When the time came for appointment of election-board members statewide, representatives from both sides of the aisle confirmed that they liked the way things were going in Graham County.
Two Democrats – Teresa Eller and Keith Rogers – were re-appointed; Lowell Crisp and Billy Ditmore were named once again to represent the Republican party. The GOP added Clara Crisp as an alternate.
Additionally, Gov. Roy Cooper appoints the chair for each county board; Juanita Colvard received the nod to continue her service as chairperson for Graham. All five were sworn in by Graham County Clerk of Court Tammy Holloway on July 18 and will serve on a two-year term.