Filing for the Franklin and Highlands municipal elections closed Friday at noon. With some incumbents choosing not to run for re-election there will be some new faces in local government following the Nov. 2 election.
Town of Franklin
Mayor Bob Scott announced earlier this month that he would not seek a fifth term as mayor. Vice Mayor Jack Horton is running unopposed for the mayor’s seat. The mayor serves a two-year term.
Horton is serving his first term as a town council member but has more than 35 years of experience in city and county management. He served as county manager for Macon County from 1985-1991 and 2008-2013. He currently serves as vice chair of the Macon County Airport Authority.
Horton said the town is going in the right direction on many things and going forward he wants to see a focus on infrastructure, housing and quality of life issues. He also would like to see the town help local businesses remain viable, especially after the struggles during the past year due to the pandemic. “We need to create a business environment where they can flourish and grow,” he said. That would also benefit another issue important to him: creating more opportunities for young people.
Three Town Council seats are up for election – the two seats currently held by David Culpepper and Dinah Mashburn, and the third held by former Vice Mayor Barbara McRae who died in March. Mashburn is not seeking re-election. The candidates for the three seats include Culpepper, Stacy Guffey, JimBo Ledford, Rita Salain and Frances Seay.
The top three vote getters will be elected for four-year terms on the council. Since Horton is running unopposed and will become mayor, the council will appoint someone to serve out his term following the November election.
David Culpepper
Culpepper is a native of Franklin and a graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in public relations/communications. He owns and operates Culpepper’s Architectural Salvage in Otto. He and his wife Charlotte have two children, Ledger and Daisy. His family enjoys exploring Western North Carolina, and he is a proponent for outdoor recreation and connecting people and places by means other than vehicular travel. Culpepper was elected to the council in 2017. “I’m running again because there’s more I want to see done promoting outdoor recreation opportunities, some of which are already in the making.”
Stacy Guffey
Stacy Guffey is a native of Macon County, a graduate of Franklin High and Western Carolina University. He served as Macon County’s planner from 2004 to 2009. He helped establish and run the Arts and Heritage Center at the old Cowee School and founded a consultancy practice to help with economic development and planning projects throughout Western North Carolina. He earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina in 2018 while taking on a new role in downtown Franklin’s preservation efforts with the purchase and rehabilitation of the 1897 building that houses the Scottish Tartans Museum.
Guffey said Franklin, and the region, has the opportunity to benefit from the shifts in the nation’s social and economic life over the past couple of years. “We all know we live in a special place,” he said. “People are coming our way, bringing their hopes for lives in a place more connected to the rhythms of small-town life. It’s up to us – and the political leadership we elect – to identify the opportunities that these new investments imply in ways that don’t compromise who we are and how we want to live and bring benefit to the people who live and work for a living here.”
James “JimBo” Ledford Jr.
Ledford has lived in Macon County for most of the past 20 years and said he wants to be part of the “talented team of individuals that are positioned and working toward making Franklin a place we can all love to call home.”
Some of the issues he would like to help address are the creation of a skate park, more green space and the preservation of all currently town-owned green space, preservation and enhancement of the wetlands, better walking spaces, connection of the existing greenways and spaces that would enhance the community, continued improvement of the existing greenways, continued improvements and connections of the sidewalk and biking systems, a greater use and appreciation of the little Tennessee River, partnerships with local law enforcement to help improve the drug and homelessness problem through research, education and social programs such as counseling and rehab.
Long-term, he would like to see trade school programs re-introduced to the schools, the development of medium income housing and the creation of an environment that will attract jobs and workers to fill that housing, and high-speed internet available in all areas of the county.
“Since I filed for town council several others have filed, and I want to reiterate that I am not running against anyone in this race but rather for the citizens of Franklin,” he said.
Rita Salain
Salain grew up in Franklin and after graduation from Franklin High School she attended Appalachian State University and graduated from the University of South Carolina.
The first 20 years of her career were spent working in public health with the state health departments in Georgia and South Carolina. She owned a consulting practice for 20 years, working all over the United States, but primarily in the South’s rural communities with a focus on rural health, primary care and maternal and child health; building, developing and evaluating systems of care and improving access to care.
She has been married to Bill Deck for 35 years. They have owned property and a home in Macon County for about 20 years. She retired in 2018 and moved back to Macon County in March 2020.
“I love Franklin. It was a great place to grow up and now to age,” Salain said. “I believe public service is the highest form of service. I want to serve on town council to help continue sustainable development and to develop/refine a business culture that is proactive and recognizes the economic engine small businesses are to our community.”
Salain said Franklin is rich in people resources and natural resources. “Protecting the environment and taking full advantage of the beauty and history of our area is a positive, smart growth strategy.”
Frances Seay
Seay is a native of Franklin, a Franklin High School graduate, a graduate of Western Carolina University. She has lived in the town limits for about 20 years. She has been an elementary school teacher for 32 years teaching at Union, Otto, East Franklin, and South Macon. “Education is near and dear to my heart,” she said. She also has experience as an event coordinator and fundraiser.
After more than 30 years in the classroom, she is beginning to think about retirement. “I thought maybe I could still do some good,” she said about her decision to run for office.
Seay said that she likes that the town election is non-partisan. “I don’t like partisan politics,” she said. “Platforms are more important.”
She would like to assist in planning for a productive future for the town and her main goals are responsible progression for Franklin, good steward of city resources, social issues improvement, and general advancement of our town.
She also thinks communication with town residents could be improved. “I wanted to be more involved,” she said. “I’m going to tell people what’s going on. People need to be aware, whether it’s good or bad.”
Seay said after she heard that Dinah Mashburn might not run for re-election, that she thought it was important to have a woman on the Town Council. “A woman can bring a different perspective,” she said.
Seay said if she wins, she looks forward to helping make a positive impact on the town and wants to help guide it’s continued growth “without losing what makes it my home. I have a vested interest in this area.” She enjoys spending time with her niece Emily and sometimes wonders, “What is her life going to be like in Franklin?” She wants to see something to encourage young people to stay in Franklin rather than move away.
Town of Highlands
In the Town of Highlands election, incumbent Mayor Patrick Lee will face challenger Marc Hehn, who currently serves as a town commissioner.
Two seats are open on the Highlands Board of Commissioners. Incumbent Donnie Calloway announced he would not seek re-election. Amy Patterson is running to retain her seat on the board along with a field of five challengers – Pat Allen, Mary Alice Bynum, Thomas Craig, Nicolaus McCall and Eric Pierson.
Election Information
Municipal elections are open only to people living in and registered to vote in the city limits. Voters must have lived in the municipality for at least 30 days prior to the election to qualify to vote. The voter registration deadline for the 2021 election is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8.
One-stop early voting will begin on Oct. 14 and end at 3 p.m. Oct. 30. Early voting for the Franklin election will be the Macon County Community Building.
The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail will be 5 p.m. October 26.
Tuesday, November 2, will be Municipal Election Day with voting at Franklin Town Hall. Polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.