LUMBERTON — Dan Bishop filed Tuesday for re-election to the N.C. District 9 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
And, two challengers filed for a seat on two county governing boards.
So far, Bishop, a Republican, is uncontested in his bid to occupy for a full two-year term the seat he won by defeating Democrat Dan McCready in a September special election. Bishop filed one day after a three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court approved the new congressional districts map, which puts Robeson County on the eastern edge of the district. The State Board of Elections had announced that candidate filing for U.S. House seats would be delayed because of ongoing litigation over the drawing of North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts.
Bishop, a former state lawmaker, and McCready ran for the District 9 race after the State Board rejected the results from the 2018 race in which McCready lost to Republican Mark Harris because of fears that irregularities in the handling of absentee ballots in Bladen County had tainted the election.
Jerry Kinlaw filed Tuesday as a Democratic candidate for District 1 on the Robeson County Board of Commissioners. Jerry Stephens is the District 1 incumbent. Board districts 3, 5 and 7 also are up for election in November.
In a statement provided to The Robesonian, Kinlaw said he has lived in the Littlefield area his entire life. He retired from the Lumberton Police Department on May 1 after serving more than 30 years in law enforcement. He retired as a sergeant and supervisor over administrative staff, supply and logistics and the department’s budget.
Before joining the police department he worked for the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, Kinlaw said. At the Sheriff’s Office he served as a detention officer for before being promoted to deputy.
“During my time with the city, I helped with Rumba on the Lumber, July Fourth fireworks show, Christmas parade, Christmas tree lighting, Alive After Five events and City Council’s community days,” Kinlaw said. “I also attended Community Watch meetings. When requested, I went around and talked about crime prevention and holiday safety tips.”
Also on Tuesday, Draper T. Bullard, of Pembroke, filed for an at-large seat on the county Board of Education. Jacqueline Carthen and former District 1 board representative Loistine DeFreece filed as at-large candidates on Monday.
DeFreece resigned her Board of Education seat in October after her residency status was questioned.
Bullard graduated from Purnell Swett High School and UNC-Pembroke with a BA degree in Criminal Justice. He works with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Community Corrections.
“I will be the voice for Robeson County in our school system,” Bullard said. “Not only for equality of students, but staff as well. Students and staff need to have the moral support of the community, letting them know that they are valued beyond measures. As, a board member I will stand behind the students and staff to help ensure that are treated with respect and dignity in the most professional way possible. We need to work with other county leaders, especially our county commissioners. Our school system needs to prosper and maintain a positive/ethical morale. We can not do this unless we have the support of everyone.”
Terry Locklear filed Monday for the board’s District 4 seat, which is now held by Charles Bullard.
The board seats for districts 1, 5 and 7 also will be on the ballot in March. The District 5 incumbent is Craig Lowry, and Steve Martin occupies the District 7 seat.
Board of Education members are elected during the primaries because the seats are nonpartisan.
When county residents go to the polls for the general election in November they also will be casting ballots to decide who will fill the state Senate District 14 and state House districts 46 and 47 seats; N.C. Superior Court District 16B seats 1 and 2; District Court 16B seats 4, 5 and 6; and Register of Deeds.
The filing period ends at noon on Dec. 20. The 2020 primary election is March 3. The general election is Nov. 3.
