Meet the candidates running in Glen Alpine, Long View

Residents from Glen Alpine to Long View will head to the polls beginning next week, casting their votes for the people they want to lead their communities. More than 40 candidates are vying to be mayors, council members, or aldermen.

Previously, The Paper has run profiles on the men and women seeking office in Valdese, Morganton, Drexel, and Rhodhiss.

Today, we are taking a look at the candidates in Burke County’s western-most municipality — Glen Alpine — and its easternmost town — Long View.

In Glen Alpine, William Kevin Herron is running unopposed for the office of mayor. Incumbent Mayor Michelle Lewis, who was appointed to the seat when Bob Benfield resigned in the spring of 2024, is running instead for an alderman seat, which she had held before her mayoral appointment.

Herron declined to respond to our questions.

Lewis and seven other candidates, including incumbents Jason Miller and Shelia Perkins, are competing for three open seats on the Board of Aldermen. They include Chad Wykle, Jody Lewis, Synthia Adams, and Lucas Huffman.

Adams declined to respond to our questions.

In Long View, incumbent Mayor Marla Thompson is opposed by Eddie Marlowe, while two town council incumbents have no opposition — Gary Lingerfelt and Phyllis Pennington.

Each candidate was given the same questionnaire and provided an equal and fair opportunity to respond to questions about their background and specific issues.

Each candidate’s answers are presented here as they were provided to The Paper without editing except in the case of obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

The Paper’s questions are in bold. The candidate responses are in regular type.

Some candidates did not answer certain questions. In those cases, you will see “Declined to answer.”

Early voting begins on Thursday, Oct. 16, and ends on Saturday, Nov. 1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Sample ballots can be found on the State Board of Elections website, ncsbe.gov/voting/sample-ballot.