Change may be in the wind for the 2024 elections for Watauga County and its local candidates, in both the primary elections March 5, and November 5 general elections. This column will describe some of the major candidates and major issues that may lead to significant changes in Watauga County politics.
At the Federal level, Virginia Foxx, who has been Watauga’s Representative in the US House since 2005, will be opposed in the March 5 Republican primary by Ryan Mayberry, an Appalachian State graduate, construction contractor, and former County Commissioner of Alexander County. Mayberry’s website casts him as more conservative than Foxx. The victor of the Foxx – Mayberry Republican primary will face Democrat Chuck Hubbard in November.
Foxx, who was formerly a community college educator, is now Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Foxx recently announced her support for Impeachment Inquiries into President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Foxx has also led recent efforts against Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (“DEI”) programs in universities, asserting they discourage the pursuit of excellence and competence, and promote the use of race in University admissions, which was recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a major case against Harvard and North Carolina Chapel-Hill. Fox’s positions may conflict with those of the Faculty and Administration at Appalachian State, whose website continues to describe multiple DEI programs in various departments. Appalachian State does not seem to have yet commented publicly on the status of its admissions and DEI programs in light of the Supreme Court decision last year.
At the NC state level, redistricting after the 2020 Census, passed by the Republican majorities in the NC State legislature, changed Watauga County’s representation in the NC State Senate. Former Watauga State Senator Deana Ballard was narrowly defeated in the 2022 Republican primary for State Senate District 47, by current NC State Senator Ralph Hise, of Spruce Pine. Ballard is now one of eleven Republicans running in the March 5 primary for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina.
Hise is a graduate of Appalachian State University and a six term NC State Senator and is currently Deputy President Pro Temporary of the NC State Senate. Hise will be un-opposed in the March Republican primary but will be opposed by Avery County Democrat Frank Patton Hughes III in November. Hise is currently Chairman of the NC Senate Appropriations / Base Budget and Redistricting Committee, and Elections Committee. Hise’s re-election website describes him as a defender of the 2nd Amendment, lower taxes, election integrity, and an opponent of Critical Race Theory in schools.
Importantly for Watauga County, Senator Hise recently authored and obtained passage of new NC Session Law 2023-147, which redistricted the Watauga County Commissioner elections. Democratic Governor Cooper had no authority to veto Hise’s “local” bill. In the past the Watauga County Commissioners, who control much Watauga County’s taxation, budgeting, and spending, were elected “at large” from throughout Watauga County. Hise’s new state law splits Watauga County into five separate “single member” electoral districts. Only residents of each district can vote for the Commissioner to represent that District, and the Commissioner must also be a resident of that District.
Districts 1 and 2 are centered around the urban areas of Boone, and Commissioners for those new districts will be first elected in 2026. Commissioners for new Districts 3, 4, and 5, which cover the more rural areas surrounding Boone, will be first elected in November 2024. The website for the North Carolina State Board of Elections will allow readers to determine which District they can vote in, see https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/.
District 3 lies generally west of Boone and covers areas from Seven Devils to Beaver Dam. Only incumbent Republican Commissioner Braxton Eggers registered to run in District 3, and therefore will run unopposed in November 2024.
District 4 lies generally north of Boone and includes the Jefferson and Bald Mountain areas. Democratic incumbent Commissioner Charlie Wallin will run for re-election in November against Republican Ronnie Marsh. Wallin is an Assistant Director of Food Services at App State and a 5th District Chair for the Watauga County Democratic Party. Some information about Wallin can be found on his Facebook page at the link below. Marsh served in the Boone Fire Department for 38 years and retired in 2014 as Fire Marshall. Marsh then ran for NC House District 93 as a Democrat in 2016 but is running as a Republican now. See the High Country Press story dated December 14, 2015.
District 5 lies generally south and east of Boone and covers the Blowing Rock, Elk, and Stony Fork areas. Republican incumbent Commissioner Todd Castle will run against Democrat Sue Sweeting in November 2024. Sweeting was a Nurse Practitioner who served eight years on the Blowing Rock Town Council before running unsuccessfully for Mayor of Blowing Rock, as a write-in candidate against Charlie Sellers in 2022. See the High Country Press story dated October 28, 2021. During her time on the Blowing Rock Town Council, during the Pandemic, Sweeting was a vocal advocate for mandatory masking for citizens and visitors, and mandatory vaccination for Blowing Rock Town Employees. Castle’s positions on three major issues during his run for Watauga County Commissioner in 2022 are described in a High-Country Press article dated October 26, 2022. Both Castle and Sweeting are supporters of improved ambulance service for the rural areas of Watauga County.
If the three Republican Candidates for Districts 3, 4, and 5 win, the Republicans will gain control of the Watauga County Commission, and many people would anticipate significant changes in many issues related to County taxation and spending priorities.
Mark A. Murphy PhD, JD