After contentious debate over the decision to make the Macon County Board of Education partisan-elected, county commissioners tabled the issue to get input from school board members and the public. 

To the Editor:

The passage of SB 749 in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Sept. 19, 2023, a bill ironically called “No Partisan Advantage in Elections” removes the selection of local county election boards from the counties and gives that authority to the General Assembly in Raleigh, which at the present time is controlled by the Republican party.

Rep. Mark Pless, to put it bluntly, is a piece of work.

Maybe the change was an inevitable byproduct of our charged and contentious era.

As Lori and I walked our dog through the roads in our subdivision this morning before sunrise, Election Day, we hoped for no fog and no clouds so we could witness the lunar eclipse. It was indeed crystal clear, the stars were out, and for most of the walk we watched as the Earth’s shadow slowly moved across the full moon near the western horizon. It’s a subtle celestial show, the darker orange/yellow slowly covering the brighter yellow/white. Otherworldly.

They may be the most consequential races in North Carolina this year, yet most people don’t even know who’s running.

A bill advanced by Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) to make school board and municipal elections in Haywood County partisan has fallen short, but could eventually be revived. 

A bill filed by Haywood County Republican Rep. Mark Pless to make all local elections partisan didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome, but now one municipality has gone on record as formally opposing it.

As Cory Valliancourt report s in The Smoky Mountain News, North Carolina House members Rep. Mark Pless , R-Haywood, and Rep. Mike Clampitt , R-Swain, have proposed a bill ( HB998 ) to move municipal and school board elections in Haywood County to partisan contests where each candidate’s party affiliation is listed on the ballot next to their name. HB998 is a local bill  which means that the barriers to becoming law are lower. If the legislature passes the bill, it will become law without making a stopover on the governor’s desk.  

A bill introduced by Haywood County’s two state House representatives would make all of the county’s municipal elections — as well as school board races — a partisan affair.