County, state hopefuls announce candidacies
Staff Writers New candidates and incumbents began filing Monday to run for positions representing Orange County at the local, state and national levels. Candidates have until noon Feb. 28 to file for the May 2 primary and Nov. 7 general election. County commissioners Three seats are up for grabs on the Orange County Board of Commissioners - Alice Gordon's, Stephen Halkiotis' and Barry Jacobs' terms all are expiring. Gordon expressed intent to run before the filing's opening. She will be running for her fifth term. "I think there's still some things I want to do," Gordon said, citing environmental protection programs and regional transportation planning. The sole Republican in the race so far, Jamie Daniel, has run for commissioner twice before. "I want to make sure we have district representation and term limits," Daniel said. Mike Nelson, who acted as mayor of Carrboro for 10 years, also declared his candidacy early and filed Monday. Nelson served as the first openly gay mayor of a Southern town and would be the first openly gay commissioner. "The board could use a breath of fresh air," Nelson said. "New ideas, a fresh voice." Both Nelson and Daniel expressed concern about the length of commissioners' tenures. Nelson and the three incumbents all are Democrats. School board Four members - Randy Copeland, Libbie Hough, Delores Simpson and Brenda Stephens - have terms ending this year on the Orange County Board of Education. Simpson already has said she will give up her seat. Copeland said he will decide if he is running during the second week of filing. Newcomer Debbie Piscitelli is vying for a seat on the school board. Piscitelli said running for office is the natural progression of her involvement in Orange County. She has volunteered in classrooms and has been Parent Teacher Organization president at Pathways Elementary School. Hillsborough resident Tony McKnight also filed to run. U.S. House 4th district Steve Acuff officially filed Monday for his candidacy in the race for the 4th congressional district seat, now held by U.S. Rep. David Price. Acuff is the only Republican who has filed with the board as a challenger for Price's seat at this time. He said he respects the work Price has accomplished, but he said the two differ greatly on their values. He plans to focus on the incumbent's voting record and on talking with the people of Orange and Durham counties. "Anytime I can get two or three people together, I'm going to talk to them," he said. Republican candidates have run against Price in the past but have been lacking in energy, Acuff said. "I'm excited about running," he said. "So excited I quit my job." Anna Tilghman, the campaign manager for Price's re-election, said Price likely will file next week. She said this year's campaign will be similar to that of other years and will be organized at a local level. N.C. House and Senate Three of the four incumbent state representatives for Orange county filed Monday. Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange and Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, filed their intentions for re-election Monday. None of the positions has competition, Republican or Democratic, after the first day of filing. Whether there is a challenger for his seat or not, Faison said he intends on staying on top of the current issues. Kinnaird also said she is excited about the prospect of re-election and said she enjoyed filing on the first day. "It generates the excitement of that this is the start of the campaign." She said she's not too worried about competition from Republicans, although she said it is likely that she will have a Republican challenger. "I have established enough of a reputation," she said. "The southern part of Orange is so Democratic that it is almost impossible for a Republican to win." Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, did not file today with the Board of Elections, though he said he will be filing for re-election. Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.