By Tim Gardner
There is a highly-contested race to fill the position of Avery County Clerk of Superior Court in the 2020 election. Four Republican candidates are seeking the position and they have more than 100 years combined experience working in the judicial system. This Avery Clerk of Superior Court election will also take on historical note as it’s thought to be the first time four female candidates are running for a particular office and with no male candidates in a Primary Election in the county.
All four candidates have worked in the Avery Clerk of Superior Court office, including three who presently do. Those candidates are: Interim Clerk of Court Teresa Benfield; Assistant Clerk of Court Lisa Vance (who also has been an Interim Avery Clerk of Court); Deputy Clerk of Court Linda Webb; and North Carolina 24th Judicial District Trial Court Coordinator/Court Manager Theresa King.
The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, March 3. And if called and necessary to declare a winner, a run-off election would be held on April 21 if it is a county and/or state runoff and on May 12 if it is also a federal office run-off. The candidate receiving the most votes in the Primary or Run-Off would then face any Republican, Democrat or other political party write-in candidates who file as such in the November 6 General Election. There are no other candidates who have previously filed for Avery Clerk of Superior Court in this year’s election.
High Country Press has interviewed each candidate and will run a series of “Conversation” articles that includes ten questions and the candidates answers to each, sharing their personal and professional backgrounds and telling Avery’s voters why they should vote for them.
Individual “Conversation” interviews (our questions and the candidates answers) with each candidate can be accessed on hcpress.com following this story in alphabetical order of the candidates last names.