Williams third to file for EC mayor
By Paul Nielsen Staff Writer, Mar 5, 2022
The founder of the conservative Pasquotank Political Action Committee has filed to run for mayor of Elizabeth City, setting up a three-way race for the city’s top elective post.
Christina Williams filed for mayor three minutes before the noon deadline on Friday.
She joins First Ward Councilor Jeannie Young and former councilor Kirk Rivers are also running for mayor. The non-partisan city elections will be held May 17, which is also the same day as state and county Republican and Democratic primaries.
Third Ward Councilor Michael Brooks filed for re-election Friday while Evelyn Strader also joined the Third Ward race. Incumbent Kem Spence, Katherine Felton and Charles Hill are also in the Third Ward race.
Pasquotank Republican Bill Ward filed to run for the District 5 state House seat, setting up a GOP primary with Donald Kirkland of Ahoskie. District 5 state Rep. Howard Hunter, D-Hertford, is running for re-election and faces no opposition in the Democratic primary.
Williams noted that she is the only registered Republican in the mayor’s race. Young is registered as unaffiliated but voted in Democratic primaries in 2018 and 2020. Rivers is a registered Democrat.
Williams founded the Pasquotank PAC last spring with the aim of electing conservatives in the county. She said she has stepped aside as PAC’s executive director to run for office.
“I think the Democrats are going to split their vote,” Williams said. “I hope that conservatives would choose the only true Republican running.”
Williams said one reason she is running is because City Council has not allowed citizens to attend its meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago. Council did agree last week to open its chamber in a limited capacity at its March 14 meeting, but masks will be required.
“First of all, I am upset that the voters in Elizabeth City have been robbed of the right to go and speak to their elected officials,” Williams said. “We want to totally open meetings up and have them listen to what the public has to say and what their concerns are.’’
Williams said if elected she would advocate that City Council resume its search for a permanent city manager.
“We need to stabilize things,” Williams said. “We can’t keep doing things short term, short-term stuff.”
Other filings on the final day include Republican Wayne Parker, who filed for an at-large county commissioner’s seat and Ronnie Morris, who filed for an Inside Corporate Limits seat on the Elizabeth City-Paquotank Board of Education.
Parker’s entry into the race means there will be a GOP primary in May. Incumbent Barry Overman and Carl Witten are also running in the GOP primary.
There were no filings in Currituck on Friday. In Chowan, Roscoe Poole filed for the 3rd Ward seat in the town of Edenton’s election earlier in the week.
There were no filings in Perquimans, but Christian Richardson became the second unaffiliated voter to file a request to get on the November ballot as a candidate for county commissioner.
According to Perquimans Board of Elections Director Kathryn Treiber, Richardson will need to turn in 399 signatures of registered Perquimans voters approving his petition to get on the ballot by May 17, which is the day of the primary.
Another unaffiliated voter, Tim Corprew, has already turned in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot as a county commission candidate, Treiber said. She’s currently certifying those signatures so she can turn in his petition to the Perquimans County Board of Elections on Tuesday. Once the board certifies his petition, Corprew will be on the November ballot.
Treiber said this election cycle is the first in which she’s seen two unaffiliated voters file petitions to get on the ballot in the same election. She attributed it to rising interest in local politics and the fact unaffiliated voters now make up a large percentage of the county’s electorate.
According to figures she provided last week, there were 3,430 unaffiliated voters in Perquimans — more than the county’s 3,306 registered Republicans and 3,150 registered Democrats.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to show that Roscoe Poole has filed to run for the Third Ward seat in the town of Edenton election on May 17.
Daily Advance article: https://www.dailyadvance.com/news/local/williams-third-to-file-for-ec-mayor/article_858176b1-987f-5adc-8719-178586338a9c.html
