Candidate filing for municipal seats wraps up

DOBSON — Candidate filing periods for elected offices across Surry County usually include some office-seekers waiting until the last minute to toss their hats into the ring.

This can be done for strategic purposes — desiring to see who one would be running against before making the plunge.

However, the just-completed sign-up period for eight seats in three Surry County towns wasn’t true to that script.

The two-week candidate filing stretch for municipal office seekers in Dobson, Pilot Mountain and Elkin ended Friday at noon with no latecomers venturing to the Surry Board of Elections office in the county seat.

It had begun at noon on July 5.

With the list now finalized and the smoke cleared, all five incumbent town commissioners in Dobson and Pilot whose seats are affected by the 2024 municipal election season filed to seek new four-year terms.

They include commissioners Todd Dockery, Robin T. Beeson and Amy Whitaker in the county seat, and Dwight Atkins and Rachel Collins of the Pilot Mountain Board of Commissioners.

No one filed to run against any of the five incumbents, who will be unopposed on the November general election ballot.

Elkin offers choices

It will be a different story in Elkin, where voters will have candidates in two contested offices to choose from in the November general election.

William M. Gwyn, a member of the Elkin Board of Commissioners, is running for mayor against Juan Alejandro Manigault.

Gwyn is able to do this since his commissioner term does not end until 2025, with a candidate not allowed to seek two offices at the same time.

The Elkin mayor’s slot is coming open due to a decision by Sam Bishop, who has served in that office for the past eight years, to step down after his present term ends in late 2024.

Bishop explained this week that he believes his goals as mayor have been accomplished and also cited his age (turning 77 next month) as a factor.

Additionally in Elkin, three people will be running for a pair of seats on the town council.

They include incumbent commissioners Robert Ball Jr. and Alvin Hayes, along with Whitney Laws.