Valdese incumbents and newcomers unite under ‘Step Up’ campaign

Four Valdese residents have announced they will be on the municipal ballot this fall. The self-named ‘Step Up for Valdese’ campaign candidates say they are running to keep Valdese moving forward.

The announced 2025 campaign features the following candidates: Councilwoman Melinda Zimmerman for Ward 2; Councilwoman Rexanna Lowman for Ward 3; Shannon Radabaugh for Ward 1; and Keith Huffman for Mayor.

Showcased on their campaign website, ‘Step Up’ stands for:

• Stability: Steady, reliable leadership you can trust
• Teamwork: Collaborative problem-solving
• Effective & Efficient: Get things done the right way, without waste
• Positive: A can-do attitude that brings people together
• Unity: Bridging divides
• Principled: Clear in values, firm in decisions

The four-person united group has been working on this campaign for the past few months; however, each candidate will have their own voices, but all share the same vision of stepping up for Valdese together.

To see their campaign website, visit https://stepup.valdese.info/. The website is paid for by the Step Up for Valdese PAC (political action committee).

The Paper reached out to the candidates to discuss their candidacy. What follows are abbreviated responses, edited for clarity.

KEITH HUFFMAN, home for over seven years

“I’ve got 42 years of civil service. The main thing is, I care. If you want to drill it down to one word, it’s ‘I cared.’ I care about this town. I care about going forward. There are some things that I saw in these past two years that have led/convicted me to want to run. I care about moving this town forward in a positive way.”

Huffman was born and raised in Morganton, but made Valdese his home over seven years ago with his wife, Terri. He has a son named Steve with three grandsons.

He joined the Air Force shortly after graduating from Freedom High School in 1979. He retired with 20 years of military service and, while in the service, received his Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Colorado Christian University.

He later retired after 22 years from the Office of Inspector General as a management analyst.

On and off for the past eight to nine months, running for mayor has been on Huffman’s mind. He serves on the Planning and Zoning Board and the Firefighters Relief Fund.

Working together as a group means they can consolidate their resources, such as events or getting out to voters.

Major priorities that Huffman wants to accomplish if he is elected mayor include:

• Work to ensure our new police and fire department facilities are completed
• Help to restore the town’s street repaving contract as quickly as possible
• As goodwill ambassador, work with the Valdese tourism staff to encourage visitors and showcase the town to the maximum extent possible
• Promote a variety of new businesses to help fill vacant storefronts
• Support town employees by advocating for better pay and benefits as possible to retain and attract new talent

“I think folks here at Valdese will understand that I'm going to get out there and they'll realize real quickly that I'm very approachable and very down to earth, and I think they'll recognize it real quickly, but they also know that there's a serious side of the things that we need to get done here in Valdese,” Huffman said.

MELINDA ZIMMERMAN, lifelong resident

“I’m excited for all this, I'm glad I have the opportunity. I've been nervous about it all, but I think God's put me in this place at this time for something, and I look forward to where it all leads. I think Valdese is a great community. It's home, and I want others to feel and love it as much as I do, and I look forward to the months ahead and hopefully the years on council ahead.”

In The Paper’s June 7 edition, Zimmerman explained why she is running for the seat that she was appointed to. To read more on her reasons, read that edition. For more of her background, read The Paper’s Jan. 4 edition.

For the past few months, Zimmerman said that the group has been pulling together their ideas and establishing the values that they want to set forward. If she is elected, she said she will represent all of Valdese, along with Ward 2.

“We're all trying to do what’s best for Valdese…We want to get Valdese moving forward again. We want to be in a positive direction. When there are issues that come up, we want to make decisions,” Zimmerman said.

Regarding the public safety project— one of the biggest ongoing projects in Valdese— she is glad the council made a decision and they can continue to move forward.

“We've taken a step forward, and I think we can keep moving that. It's been going on for way too long. This has been 2018, so going on seven years. Things are only getting more expensive. Where would we have been if we could have done this four or five years ago, six years ago? We've got to move forward and accomplish this,” Zimmerman said.

SHANNON RADABAUGH, here since 2017

“ I feel like Valdese has such a great atmosphere for families as well as businesses to grow…There needs to be more positivity in the way things are being run currently. I would like to see if that's possible to bring positivity to the community and building the community as a whole.”

Her husband, Justin, and she served as a dual military family earlier in their careers. Their family moved from state to state before moving to Valdese. She has three children who attended Valdese schools.

“My husband and I moved here several years ago after my husband finished his career in the Navy, and we have just moved…We just love Valdese. We had the opportunity to move anywhere, and we felt that it was a great opportunity to have our children grow up here, and so that's why we chose Valdese to live,” Radabaugh said.

She was enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1999 and served five years as an expanded functions dental technician. She received numerous recognitions during her service.

Radabaugh has considered her candidacy for Ward 1 seat for the past two months. When the Set Up for Valdese group came to her about joining, she said she was elated to do so. She currently serves on the Parks and Rec Commission, along with various youth organizations. She is also a business owner in Valdese.

“One big thing is I'd really like to be steadfast in pursuing long-term business growth in the community, pushing for better pay for the hard working employees of the Town of Valdese, and being a strong advocate for the Parks and Rec to support the youth sports and activities for the young individuals of our community,” Radabaugh said.

Looking at the public safety project, she said that the town needs to move forward with the project for the men and women of the police and fire departments.

“This is long overdue, and I feel that it’s something that needs to happen for our community moving forward,” she said.

REXANNA LOWMAN, lifelong resident

“I want to make sure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, prioritizing the needs of our community while maintaining fiscal responsibility.”

Since age four, Valdese has been Lowman’s home. After receiving her bachelor's in education from the University of N.C. at Chapel Hill, she taught middle school social studies at Salem Jr. High, Valdese Jr. High, and Heritage Middle School.

Lowman has over 35 years of experience in education, with been a principal for Valdese Elementary and East Burke High schools. She was also Director of Secondary Education and Career and Technical Education for the Burke County School system.

Lowman was sworn into office on Dec. 6, 2021, for the Ward 3 seat. She also works part-time as a university supervisor for Appalachian State University. She serves on various committees and community organizations in Burke County.

The deciding factor for Lowman was that the Valdese voters who were urging her to run for re-election. She has been thinking about this move for the past several months.

Their group is a “grassroots movement of people in Valdese who want a positive, stable, unifying, efficient, and approach to government.”

When asked what the biggest thing she hopes to accomplish, she named the public safety facilities.

“Our Valdese citizens, firemen, and policemen deserve proper facilities. This process has gone on far too long and needs to be completed,” Lowman said. “...I am excited that we have a town manager, Todd Herms, who has experience in leading the building of a police department and a fire station. I am pleased that the Council has selected a contractor for the project.”