Congressional maps are still hung up in court and candidate filing still hasn’t resumed, but that didn’t stop the five Democrats running for the open NC-14 seat from holding a forum on Jan. 8. And although the crop of candidates is largely the same as it has been for almost a year, it was their first forum without the specter of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Henderson, hanging over it. 

John Hinton, a candidate for Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen, prompted an investigation by the North Carolina State Board of Elections after he admittedly sent a letter containing campaign information, along with a dollar bill to a friend whom he was asking for his vote. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians marked the start of a new Tribal Council term this week, with 2021 election winners sworn in and new officers selected Monday, Oct. 4. Through 2023, Big Cove Representative Richard French will serve as chairman and Birdtown Representative Albert Rose will serve as vice chairman.

Three current Tribal Council members will not return in October following the Sept. 2 General Election, but the 2021-23 government will feature only one new face — unless a potential recount should change the results in Painttown. 

Election Day is coming to Cherokee on Thursday, Sept. 2, with voters set to choose Tribal Council and School Board representatives, as well as weigh in on three alcohol-related referendum questions. 

With a father in the Navy and a mother from Poland, Jay Carey grew up in a middle-class family in the northeast, primarily Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

On Thursday, Sept. 2, Cherokee voters will select the next Tribal Council, three School Board representatives and answers to three alcohol-related referendum questions.

The filing period for candidates seeking municipal governing board seats in November began at noon on Friday, July 2, with several challengers and incumbents already declaring their candidacies. 

Cheri Beasley, former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice, announced her campaign for United States Senate in April. On Friday, Beasley visited several small businesses in downtown Asheville to speak with business owners about how they fared during the pandemic and hear what they would have liked state representatives to have done differently. 

Tribal Council incumbents fared well in Thursday’s Primary Election, with all six representatives who faced primary contests sailing easily toward the Sept. 2 General Election. However, the General Election ballot will feature only one incumbent Cherokee Central Schools Board member between the three school board races underway this year.