Haywood voters stick with Ensley, Rogers for commission
Haywood County's board of commissioners will remain a 5-0 Republican majority for at least the next two years.
Haywood County government photo
Two Republicans seeking to fend off a challenge by a lone Democrat, Waynesville native Tausha Forney, have done so, and will return to their seats on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners.
When Brandon Rogers, now vice chairman, first ran and won in 2016, he led all candidates with 31.97% of the vote, or 17,091 votes on 69.89% turnout. When Rogers ran again in 2020, he again led the ticket with 34.55%, or 23,151 votes on 79% turnout.
Each time, longtime commissioner and current board Chair Kevin Ensley was right behind him, with 29.95% of the vote in 2016 and 31.92% in 2020. This time, it was Ensley, with 23,310 votes (39.18%) to lead the ticket. Rogers wasn’t far behind, however, and garnered 22,633 votes, good for 38.04% on turnout of 79.42%.
Although Democrats could have fielded two candidates to oppose Rogers and Ensley, they could only manage to find one, Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center Program Director Tausha Forney.
Voters could have selected any two candidates for the race, but didn’t have to; Forney pitched supporters the idea of voting only for her, effectively increasing the value of that vote, but it simply wasn’t enough for her to knock off either of the two popular incumbents. She finished with 13,556, or 22.78%.
Rogers and Ensley have had to contend with a number of unusual, even once-in-a-lifetime situations over just the past four years. In 2020, the Coronavirus Pandemic challenged local leaders and elected officials across the country. In 2021, deadly flooding from Tropical Storm Fred devastated the eastern reaches of Haywood County. In 2023, one of the county’s largest employers closed up shop, with little notice. Last month, Hurricane Helene dwarfed all of Haywood County’s previous catastrophes, both in scope and in the sheer scale of human suffering.
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In talking to voters over the past month, The Smoky Mountain News noted that the incumbents’ experience with previous disasters was perhaps the deciding factor in sending them back to the commission for what will certainly be a long road to recovery.
All results are considered unofficial until county boards of elections certify their races on Nov. 15.
