This is the last week of early voting for the Franklin town election. Five candidates are running for three Town Council seats and Vice Mayor Jack Horton is running unopposed in the mayor’s race.
Early voting is being held at the Community Building through Friday, Oct. 29, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Voting will be held at Franklin Town Hall from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The election is open only to voters registered in the town limits.
The Highlands town election will be held the same day with voting at the Highlands Civic Center. Incumbent Patrick Taylor and Marc Hehn are vying for the mayor’s seat. Five people are running for the two Highlands commissioner seats – incumbent Amy Patterson and challengers Pat Allen, Mary Alice Bynum, Thomas Craig, Nicolaus McCall and Eric Pierson. Commissioner Donnie Calloway is not running for re-election.
Sample ballots are available. For more information, call the Board of Elections at 828-349-2034 or visit the website at maconnc.org/board-of-elections.
Franklin Mayor Bob Scott and council member Dinah Mashburn are not running for re-election. Incumbent council member David Culpepper is running for a second term. The third open council seat was held by former Vice Mayor Barbara McRae, who died in March. In addition to Culpepper, candidates running for town council are Stacy Guffey, JimBo Ledford, Rita Salain and Frances Seay. The council members serve four-year terms.
With Horton vacating his seat on the council, the newly elected council will appoint someone to replace him once he takes office as mayor.
The candidates recently participated in two public forums and each candidate sat down for an individual interview with The Franklin Press. (See the Oct. 13 edition of the Press for more details from their interviews.)
One of the upcoming priorities for the town council members will be deciding how to spend the $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds the town received. That money comes with re-strictions, but the candidates offered some ideas on how they would like to see the money spent.
Infrastructure is one of the approved uses for the money. Culpepper said the town has a lot of infrastructure to maintain, but they also have a plan for doing that. He would like to see the money spent on recreation or on services that improve people’s lives. “It’s the people’s money, it needs to be something for the people,” he said.
He thinks the town needs to invest more in its young people to help them be better prepared for life. “Let’s not arrest them when they’re 20, let’s help them when they’re 10,” he said. “If you don’t address the cause, you’re never going to fix the problem.”
Whether using recovery funds or other funding, each candidate mentioned multiple times the need to make the town more walkable and to continue improving sidewalks. The candidates say having a walkable downtown will spur a variety of benefits from creating a healthier lifestyle to helping increase business for in-town merchants.
Guffey said he would like to see the funds used to improve the town’s aesthetics. He would also support the town creating a revolving loan fund to help downtown businesses and property owners. “It’s a way to help small businesses. To help them recover from what we’ve been through,” he said.
Seay said the money should go into getting people back to work. “That helps everybody – families, the town, the local economy.” She would recommend using the money for big projects that impact as many people as possible. Being a teacher, she said children are “near and dear” to her heart and she would support improving or creating parks, picnic areas and other places families can enjoy.
In addition to infrastructure and sidewalks, Ledford said beautifying downtown buildings and creating greenspace would be a good use of the funds. “I would like to see some of the things we already have be finished,” he said.
“What have we been planning to do that we didn’t have the resources to do?” Salain asked.
She listed “community enhancement” as something that would be a good use for the recovery funds. “Our environment could look better,” she said.
Why should someone vote for you?
David Culpepper
“To continue the renaissance of Franklin,” said incumbent Culpepper. “We’ve made some steps in the right direction.”
Culpepper describes himself as objective, an advocate for outdoor recreation and a healthier lifestyle, and someone who will continue to work to make Franklin a good place to live, work and play.
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.
Stacy Guffey
Guffey cited his experience working in local government, non-profits and fundraising. “I think I could bring a lot to the table,” he said.
Guffey is also a native of the county and wants to give back to his community. “This place has made me who I am – I look for opportunities to serve.”
He is a graduate of Franklin High School, Western Carolina University, and earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina in 2018. He served as Macon County’s planner from 2004 to 2009. He helped establish and run the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center and founded a consultancy practice to help with economic development and planning projects throughout Western North Carolina. He purchased and rehabilitated the 1897 building that houses the Scottish Tartans Museum.
JimBo Ledford
Ledford said he will listen with an open mind. “I am someone who will help,” he said. “Someone people can talk to and trust, someone they can share their ideas with.”
Ledford has lived in Macon County for most of the past 20 years and owns a plumbing business. He wants to be part of the “talented team of individuals that are working toward making Franklin a place we can all love to call home.”
Rita Salain
“I’m energetic and enthusiastic about the work that needs to be done,” Salain said. “I’m not afraid of hard work.” A native of Macon County, Salain said she is a good listener and has a lot of respect for the people who have lived here a long time. “I think I can help,” she said. “Franklin is a great place to live; I think it could be better.”
After graduating 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. 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.
Frances Seay
Seay said she will bring compassion, courage and common sense to the town council if elected.
“I’m not afraid to talk and speak my mind,” she said. “I was born and raised here – I have a vested interest in our town. I will try to do the best I can for the people. I’m going to be approachable, and people can talk to me.”
Seay said she decided to run after some friends approached her following the death of Vice Mayor Barbara McRae. “I admired her greatly.”
Seay is a graduate of Franklin High School and 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.