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1ST WARD
(Two seats open)
Name Jean Baker (incumbent)
Age 65
Personal Widow
Education High school, certifications in real estate
Employment Real estate agent
Political experience Eight years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Infrastructure. Water and sewer lines, streets and sidewalks have been ignored for years. Money must be set aside annually toward repairs and replacement. City should seek grant funding.
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Name Betty Meggs (incumbent)
Age 75
Personal Widow with two grown children
Education Bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University
Employment Retired schoolteacher
Political experience Four years on City Council. Chairwoman of the local Democratic Party.
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Good jobs. Development of new aviation park must remain at the forefront, including construction of the aviation schools proposed for both Elizabeth City State University and College of the Albemarle.
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Name Thomas “Tom” Baker
Age 62
Personal Married with five grown children
Education Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University
Employment Retired Navy captain, 100 percent disabled veteran of Vietnam War
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Opposes any new rate increases. Look for ways to produce alternatives
such as wind and solar power. Electric-fund revenues should not be transferred to the general fund.
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Name Patricia “Pat” Franzese
Age 66
Personal Married with a grown daughter
Education Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond
Employment Owner, broker of Butterfly Real Estate
Political experience Historic Preservation Commission in Elizabeth City, Community Relations Commission for Pasquotank County and Elizabeth City
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Stop passing on rate increases to city customers who can least afford it. Search for alternatives that result in energy cost savings.
2ND WARD
(Two seats open)
Name Anita Hummer (incumbent)
Age 75
Personal Married with two grown children and two grown stepchildren
Education High school. Graduate of two-year business school.
Employment Retired civil service after working at the naval hospital in Portsmouth
Political experience 12 total years on City Council. Mayor pro-tem for two terms. Founder of Elizabeth City’s first community watch group.
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Infrastructure. Many water and sewer lines need replacing. Find grants to help fund infrastructure replacement.
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Name Tony Stimatz (incumbent)
Age 58
Personal Married with one grown son
Education Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Master’s degree in operations science and statistics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Employment Retired Coast Guard captain. Currently working as commercial property manager.
Political experience Four years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Effective management of city finances. The city must follow accepted best-business practices and prevent fraud against the city and the public.
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Name Selma White-Kyles
Age 59
Personal Single with four grown children
Education Associate degree in early childhood education
Employment Retired from the Army. Owner of Stella’s convenience store.
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. Establish good programs for youths.
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Name Allison Wills
Age 38
Personal Married with three children
Education High school
Employment Food Bank of the Albemarle
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Stop transfer of $1.2 million from electric revenues to general fund. High electric rates should not subsidize city budget. City buildings should get an energy-efficiency audit. Be aggressive with grants to better weatherize older homes. Landlords could get incentives for making homes more energy efficient.
3RD WARD
(Two seats open)
Incumbent Daniel Evans is not running for re-election
Name Rickey King (incumbent)
Age 54
Personal Married with four grown children
Education Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Elizabeth City State University
Employment Retired from the Elizabeth City Police Department
Political experience Four years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Find ways to lower the rate and help less fortunate pay utility bills.
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Name Michael Brooks
Age 52
Personal Married with three grown sons
Education Bachelor’s degree in theology from Mid-Atlantic Christian University
Employment Disabled veteran
Political experience Two years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Must find a way to stabilize the rates. Set aside money that could be used to offset electric rate increases. At least some rate hikes could be absorbed by the city.
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Name Milford Creecy
Age 68
Personal Married with three grown children
Education High school
Employment Retired after 38 years with the Ford plant
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Opposes transfer of $1.2 million from electric fund to general fund. Coordinate utility bills better with when retirement checks arrive.
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Name Kem Spence
Age 38
Personal Married with two daughters
Education High school
Employment Department of Corrections. Named Supervisor of the Year at Pasquotank Correctional Institut ion .
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. Youths need more constructive things to do. Keep young teens out of trouble, and other issues such as crime can be reduced. Programs such as Big Brother and Big Sister could be started in Elizabeth City. The city could sponsor parenting classes using volunteers.
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Name Dennis B. Stallings
Age 27
Personal Married with two daughters
Education High school
Employment Self-employed in bail bonding
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Youths. A priority would be to find a building where the Boys and Girls Club could meet. Children are the future.
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4TH WARD
(Two seats open)
Incumbent Kirk Rivers is not running for re-election
Name Volanda C. Watts (incumbent)
Age 46
Personal Married with two children
Education Bachelor’s degree in music from Elizabeth City State University. Master’s degree in divinity from International School of Seminary.
Employment Homemaker
Political experience Two years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Some rate increases could be absorbed. Tax increases may be necessary to hold electric rates down. Find ways to reduce $1.2 million transfer from electric department to general fund.
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Name Lennard Bartlett Sr.
Age 66
Personal Married with three adult children
Education Bachelor’s degree in social science from Elizabeth City State University. Certified as nuclear science instructor at shipyard.
Employment Retired from the Newport News shipyard. Retired from the North Carolina National Guard.
Political experience None
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Gangs. Law enforcement, the city and churches could bring in experts in gang activity to educate the public. Also, good role models could speak in the schools. Many homes of gang members do not have good father figures.
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Name Lena Hill-Lawrence
Age 64
Personal Married with three grown children
Education Bachelor of Arts in religion and philosophy from Eastern Nazarene College. Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School.
Employment Senior pastor of New Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. Former personnel officer for Proctor & Gamble and for Johnson & Johnson. Former director of a nonprofit in Boston.
Political experience Worked on political campaigns for Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Edward Kennedy
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Economy. Improve infrastructure to help attract more industries with high wages. Supports expansion of new aviation park and would support a proposed downtown conference center.
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Name Johnnie Walton
Age 61
Personal Married with five grown children
Education Bachelor’s degree in physical education, health and biology from Elizabeth City State University
Employment Teacher at H.L. Trigg Elementary School
Political experience Four years on City Council
Most pressing issue and how to resolve it Electric rates. Should try to get an attorney with experience and ability to renegotiate the long-term contract with ElectriCities.
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