2 incumbents, 1 challenger seek school board seats

A challenger has filed for the Wilson County Board of Education’s District 4 seat that’s been held by Vice Chair Henry Mercer for 20 years.

John Kyle, a Republican and owner of Kyle Auto Group, is seeking the District 4 seat in the Nov. 5 election. Mercer, unaffiliated, was first appointed to represent District 4 in 2004 and has held the seat since.

As a mechanic, Kyle said the public school system is like an aging vehicle: It needs some work done.

“My wife is a teacher, and I’ve got three school-aged kids in Wilson County,” Kyle said. “You get to hear everything that the teachers could use and need. I’d like to go in and help fix the problems that the school system has, whether that’s the cost of goods schools are paying for, teacher pay — there’s a lot that could be done to help out. Everybody needs support. Hopefully I can go in as a fresh face with new ideas to change a lot of things.”

Mercer and William Blake Boykin, a Republican, both filed for reelection. Boykin, elected in 2020, holds the District 6 seat. Velma Barnes, first appointed in May 2013, currently holds the District 2 seat. She had not filed for reelection as of Tuesday afternoon.

Filing opened at noon Friday and will continue through noon on July 19 at the Wilson County Board of Elections. School board seats in District 2, District 4 and District 6 are the only three up for grabs in this year’s election. The filing fee for the Board of Education is $98.70.

Filing for Wilson County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor concluded at noon Friday, July 5. The only candidate who filed was Benjamin “Tommy” Shingleton, a Democrat. Shingleton is the incumbent for the seat. The Soil and Water Board is governed by a non-partisan five-member board. Two are appointed by the state, while the other three are elected to four-year terms.

Filing for the Board of Education is the final filing period of Wilson County before the November election. For more information, contact the Wilson County Board of Elections at 252-399-2836.

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