W. TERRY SMITH
Filing for the May Primary Election begins at noon Monday and continues until noon Friday, Feb. 26
So far, only incumbent state Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, two opponents and 7th Judicial District District Attorney Robert Evans of Rocky Mount have announced their intentions.
There will be 21 offices on the ballot, including seats in Congress, in the state House of Representatives and Senate, Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Board of County Commissioners, Board of Education, district judges and superior court judges.
Jenkins, a Tarboro farmer and businessman, is completing a fourth term. Challenger Frankie Bordeaux of Greenville is making his first venture into politics, and challenger Florence Armstrong of Tarboro is a familiar name on county ballots.
Jenkins, 62, is cites his legislative experience, his knowledge of the district and its constituents and the leadership positions he holds in the Senate as key factors in his campaign for re-election.
He is cochairman of the powerful Senate finance committee and vice chairman of the appropriations transportation committee.
Bordeaux, 52, is the former executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Nash-Edgecombe Counties. He owns Cambridge Behavioral Health Services in Greenville.
Armstrong, 63, was on the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners from 1996 until July 2001 when she resigned to take a principal’s job in Virginia.
She came back to her hometown and was elected to the county Board of Education in 2004. She was on the school board until July 2007 when she resigned because she moved out of her district.
Armstrong was a candidate for the Register of Deeds post when Judy Cole retired in 2007, but the county Democratic Party Executive Committee elected Robin Carpenter. Armstrong’s husband of 29 years, Alvis “Butch” Armstrong ran against Carpenter in the 2008 election and lost.
Evans, who was appointed to his post in May, is kicking off his campaign with U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-1st District, at 7:30 a.m. Monday at Country Inn and Suites in Rocky Mount.
Evans is having fund-raising events open to the public in Rocky Mount next week, in Tarboro Feb. 17 and in Wilson Feb. 25. The 7th Judicial District includes Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson counties.
Mel and Jane Caison of Tarboro are hosting a fund-raiser for Evans from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 at their Kensington Drive residence. There are "sponsorship opportunities" ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Evans, 57, is only the second black district attorney to serve in North Carolina. Evans was appointed to his district court judge position by Gov. Jim Hunt back in 1999, after he had practiced law in Rocky Mount beginning in 1977.
Here are the offices up for election in the May 4 Primary and Nov. 2 General elections:
U.S. Senator:
Richard Burr (R)*
U.S. House of Representatives
1st District
G.K. Butterfield (D)*
N.C. Senator
Clark Jenkins (D)*
N.C. House of Representatives
23rd District
Joe Tolson (D)*
24th District
Jean Farmer-Butterfield (D)*
District Attorney
Robert A. Evans (D)*
Sheriff
James Knight (D)*
Clerk of Court
Carl Allen White (D)*
Edgecombe County
Board of Commissioners
District 4
Charlie Harrell (D)*
District 6
T.C. Cherry (D) *
District 7
Wayne Hines (D)*
Judge Superior Court
7-B District
Milton F. "Toby" Fitch*
District 7-C
Walter H. Godwin*
Judge of District Court
7th District
Joseph J. Harper Jr. *
Pell Carlton Cooper*
Edgecombe County
Board of Education
District 1
Evelyn Wilson*
District 3
Charlie G. Cobb*
District 5
Ann Elise Kent*
District 7
John William Edmondson*
Nash-Rocky Mount
Board of Education
District 9
Robert A. Bynum Sr.*
incumbent
