Write-in candidate to run for Elkin School Board

Voters in Elkin will see a write-in slot on the ballot for the upcoming Elkin School Board city district race. This will be the first time since Board of Education elections in Surry County became partisan that a candidate will be campaigning as a write-in.

WT Stille IV, who goes by the name ‘Ted’, said he was approached over the summer and asked to run for School Board in Elkin as word in the community spread that School Board Chairman Richard Brinegar, who is running for reelection, could be planning a move out of the district.

Brinegar confirmed Tuesday that he has had an offer to buy his house in Elkin and he is planning a future move out of the school district. Brinegar said he was asked by the board not to step down from his seat or withdraw from the election. Brinegar said if the sale of his house does not go through he may not leave the district.

Vicechair of the School Board, Jennifer Kleinheksel, confirmed that the board had encouraged Brinegar to stay in the race as plans with his potential move out of district are not yet final. Kleinheksel noted that Brinegar is the most tenured member of the board and brings a wealth of knowledge to the group.

School Board elections in the county were changed from non-partisan to a partisan race at the request of the all-Republican Surry County Board of Commissioners in 2019, in an effort to make the election “more transparent” for voters. The 2022 school board election was the first to follow under that new guideline and in Elkin a slate of Republicans beat out two unaffiliated candidates, including one incumbent.

Brinegar ran for reelection in the Republican primary earlier this year, alongside Republican candidate Jill Bellia. Brinegar won the election to be on the ballot in November. Bellia, subsequently, was appointed to the board after the resignation of member Johnny Blevins who moved out of district. As the board is now partisan, it was up to the Surry County Republican party to nominate a replacement for Blevins. Despite a request from the board to nominate Bellia, a recently retired educator from Elkin City Schools, the Surry GOP submitted another nominee, Patty Crosswhite. Crosswhite ran in the Republican primary in 2022.

The Elkin School Board was advised by its attorney, Allison Tomberlin, that the appointment from the GOP was not in compliance with the law and therefore were able to select Bellia instead.

Kleinheksel said the board’s decision to ask Brinegar to remain in the race for now was, in part, due to issues that arose the last time a candidate had to be replaced. She said as his plans were not yet finalized for his move out of district that the board preferred for him to remain in his position.

As for the new write-in spot on the ballot, there are specific guidelines that must be followed in order for a write-in to run. Stille had to obtain approved signatures from one percent of the registered voters from the Elkin school district on a deadline of 90 days prior to the election in order for the write in space to be included on the ballot. Stille needed 45 approved signatures and he had 59 approved signatures turned in to the Surry County Board of Elections.

Also on the Elkin School Board ballot in November will be Haley McCoin Sullivan for the east district seat. Sullivan was the only candidate to file for that seat.

The Tribune will publish a Q&A for all three candidates in an upcoming edition.