Election season off to slow start

It’s Labor Day, the day some Statesville political aspirants view as the time to really start getting their message out. But with just five weeks remaining before the city’s elections, there has been very little evidence around town that a political season is upon us.

One race ended before it started and secured Councilman Michael Johnson a second term in his Ward 4 seat. That happened when the Rev. J.C. Harris got to see his political adversary in action and liked what he saw.

By his own admission, Harris, the pastor of First Baptist Church, had not exactly been a regular at city council meetings and said he did not know much about Johnson or his skills as a politician.

“I’m not running against the man,” Harris, 73, declared soon after filing. “I’m running for the seat.”

Not long thereafter, Harris figured that if he was going to run for the seat, he was going to need to get a grasp on the issues.

So he attended a council meeting, where he learned that “the man” he was running against was a man of some political savvy.

“I came to the opinion that his experience was needed on the council,” Harris said. And then he promptly pulled out of the race.

“He was very amicable and gentlemanly,” Johnson said of Harris’ decision to drop out. “He called me and told me that he was going to leave the race and I told him that I hope he would stay in touch with me and tell me what he agrees with and what he doesn’t agree with.”

Johnson, a developer, said that this campaign season would now obviously be less spirited than his run four years ago, when he defeated incumbent Ray Raymer.

“I did a lot of door-to-door then,” Johnson said. “And it worked.”

Harris’ withdrawal meant that two of the three Statesville City Council incumbents whose names will appear on the Oct. 9 ballot - along with Mayor Pro Tem Paula Steele, whose Ward 1 seat attracted no other candidates - will be unopposed.

Therefore only two of the four seats being vied for will feature what could actually be called a race.

Ward 6 Councilman Flake Huggins will be battling two opponents in an attempt to keep his seat for a second term.

A few Huggins signs have been sighted protruding from the occasional lawn but that’s about it.

“I have also been making phone calls,” Huggins said. “I want to remind people that there is an election coming up.”

Huggins, who works at Rutledge & Bigham Mortuary, believes the council’s record during his four years on it have qualified him to serve another term.

“I’m hoping that the things that have happened while I’ve been there will speak positively,” he said. “I think when I first got on the council we were playing catch up, but I think the past couple of years we have done some very positive things for the city. And I would really like to stay and see some things through.”

If Huggins is going to hold on to his seat, he’s going to have to get by Jaun “J.D.” Williams and Donnetta Lavettte Watkins.

Of the two, Williams has been the most visible and may be the only non-incumbent in the field who has actually been campaigning, in the truest sense of the word, since he threw his hat in the ring.

“I try to get to as many places as I can,” said Williams, the owner of Squeaky Clean Janitorial Service. “And I talk to as many people as I can get in front of.”

Williams, 33, said he has just ordered his lawn signs and that he as a lot of speeches and other appearances lined up.
“On top of that I’m doing a lot of door-knocking,” he said. “I pick a different street every day and just walk down it and see who I can talk to.”

There is also a three-person race for the Ward 3 seat, which has been vacant since Councilman A.E. “Pete” Peterson resigned for health reasons in June.

Doris A. Allison, who hopes to fill the Ward 3 seat, said her campaign so far has been one of making those in the community aware that there is an election coming up and that her name is on the ballot.

“It’s all been word of mouth so far,” Allison said. “I just tell people when I see them that I am running for city council and hopefully they will come out and vote for me.”

Allison, a machine operator for Canac Kitchens, is optimistic about her chances.

“I want to win,” she said. “But more important to me is that I hope whoever wins it is a person who is ready to bring change to the Ward 3 community and to South Statesville. So, really, the biggest part of my campaign is that I have a great concern for my community.”

Several attempts were made to contact all Statesville City Council candidates for this story.

Ward 3 contenders Bonita Eisele and Dave Jackson could not be reached.

Posted on 09/03/07 at 05:28 AM
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