Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Candidate Filing in Watauga Light on First Day

Story by Kathleen McFadden

Candidate filing for the 2008 election opened Monday, February 11, at 12:00 p.m., and instead of the usual crush of candidates ready to fill out the paperwork to get their names on the ballot, the Watauga County Board of Elections staff was able to dispense with the sparse group of early filers within 30 minutes.

Waiting for the stroke of noon were U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx, NC Representative Cullie Tarleton (representing Watauga and Ashe counties) and NC Senator Steve Goss (representing Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties).

Following closely behind them, Watauga County Board of Commissioners Chair Jim Deal, Watauga County Register of Deeds JoAnn Townsend and local dentist Dr. Jerry Butler, who has filed to run against Steve Goss, had completed their paperwork.

Later in the afternoon, Watauga County Commissioner Winston Kinsey filed for reelection.

In Ashe County, Roy Carter filed to run against Virginia Foxx for the Fifth Congressional District Seat. The Fifth Congressional District includes Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Davie, Surry, Stokes, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties, as well as portions of Forsyth, Iredell, and Rockingham.

Filing continues until 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 29.

Virginia Foxx

In her filing statement, Foxx said, “I am absolutely committed to continue doing the best job possible as the Representative of the people of the Fifth Congressional District. I am going to continue to address the needs of my constituents. The folks in the Fifth District know that I listen and I respond.

“That’s why this past year I’ve publicly committed to leading the fight against a broken Washington. I’ve pledged to request no new earmarks until Congress reforms the broken earmark system and allows openness and full accountability. Washington is broken and I will work to fix it.

“One of my top priorities is also to continue my work to give our citizen-soldiers the support and benefits they deserve as they fight to protect our freedom. I’ve also kept my promise to vote against tax increases and will continue to work to cut taxes and keep North Carolinians’ taxes low.

“My goal is to have the most responsive Congressional office in the country. I am proud of the work my staff and I have done on behalf of our constituents during the past 3 years. We work very hard to be accessible and to respond promptly to the concerns of the people I represent. I am going to continue to be accessible and will continue to keep my constituents informed of what is happening in Washington.

“And I am going to continue to maintain a positive approach on how to address the many challenges that our country faces. I will continue to work hard, do an excellent job, and represent the values of the people of this district. If I keep doing that, then this election should take care of itself.

Roy Carter

After filing, Carter said, “It was important to me to hold my filing ceremony here in my home county because the people of this community are my dear friends and have given my family tremendous support over the years. I am filing on the first possible day at the first possible moment because our district cannot afford to suffer even one more day of Foxx’s failed leadership and callous disregard for her constituents.

“I am running against Foxx because her voting record in Congress has been a slap in the face to our young people, to working families, and to farmers in our district," Carter went on to say. " In Congress, I will never turn my back on the people who elect me serve. I will be the kind of Congressman who will stand up for what is right, tell you the plain truth, and always place the needs of people above politics.”

Steve Goss

Goss said his style in Raleigh is to work with everyone to get things done. “As I promised in 2006, I’ll continue to work in a bi-partisan way for the people of the 45th district. I believe we can accomplish what we need to by working together, as we have in 2007.”

Explaining why is he running for reelection, Goss said, “I have been honored to serve the people of the 45th District, and I’d like the opportunity to build on what we have already accomplished. People call and e-mail me every day on issues of public interest, and private issues they need resolved with the state. I feel blessed to be able to help.”

Cullie Tarleton

Tarleton pledged to continue working for North Carolina families by ensuring a quality education for our children, improving our state's economy and making quality healthcare available to all North Carolinians.

“With the national economy slowing, we must work to protect North Carolina's economy by making health insurance affordable, assisting small businesses and maintaining access to quality public education,” Tarleton said.

“We can't turn our back on North Carolinians who work hard every day at their jobs but can't make ends meet to afford healthcare for their families. We have an obligation to our children to make sure they get a good education from qualified, well paid teachers that we work to keep in the state. Providing our children with a great education and keeping our state financially secure will ensure their futures here in North Carolina.

“I believe every North Carolinian who wants to work should be able to work and that's why I favor investing in technical education and workforce retraining programs. We've made progress, such as raising teacher pay, making community colleges more affordable and providing funding for dropout prevention, but there is a lot of work yet to be done to keep our communities strong."

Jerry Butler

“I’m one of the people, like most of my friends, who has been complaining too long,” Butler said. “I think things are changing more quickly than we can adapt to.” Butler said he has been planning to run for the NC Senate for the past three years.

Butler continued, “People think, ‘I can probably spend money more wisely than the government can,’” and he pointed to North Carolina’s dropout rate as an example.

“They’re spending more money on that program than ever,” Butler said, “and education is failing in North Carolina.” His approach would be to form a legislative advisory council that included past legislators and present teachers to address the dropout issue and come up with solutions. “Including teachers—I believe that’s where the answer lies,” he said.

Butler said he favors legislation to lower corporate taxes, a move, he said, that will increase jobs in the region.