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Four Seasons Politics

Metcalf appointed U.S. magistrate judge

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Red wall in Blue Ridge blocks Democratic wave

There was no blue wave here. Voters in reliably Republican Henderson County erected a red wall and re-elected incumbent Republicans against a hard charge by Democrats, who had fielded more candidates for the Legislature than in recent years and in several races had competed on nearly even ground with their Republican opponents.   Read Story »

Laurel Park Four Seasons Politics

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Four steps forward after a giant leap back

Twenty years ago, when Henderson County longed for state road money and got none, political and business leaders would have been celebrating recent news on highway funding.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

COUNTY'S EARLY VOTING — LIKE STATE'S — SPIKES BY 70 PERCENT

Nearly 30 percent of Henderson County’s registered voters cast ballots during the early voting period that ended at 1 p.m. Saturday, far surpassing the number of early votes cast the last mid-term election.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

Knight appointment creates yet another judicial vacancy

Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday appointed District Court Judge Peter Knight to the Superior Court vacancy created by the retirement of Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Mark Powell. Knight brings nearly 10 years of experience as a District Court Judge in District 29B to his new appointment. He previously served as an attorney in private practice in Henderson County and surrounding areas for nearly three decades. Judge Knight has also volunteered his time to various nonprofit and faith-based community organizations, including the YMCA of Henderson County and Grace Lutheran Church. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Knight's move up to the Superior Court bench creates a second vacancy this year in Judicial District 29B covering Transylvania, Polk and Henderson counties. Last month Cooper appointed C.W. "Mack" McKeller to fill a vacancy created by the governor's appointment of Chief District Court Judge Athena Fox Brooks as a Special Superior Court judge. Cooper will now fill the Knight vacancy after considering nominations from the District 29B Bar Association.     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Both parties endorse in nonpartisan School Board race

Less publicly than it did in 2016, the Republican Party is again endorsing candidates in the nonpartisan School Board election. And this time, Democrats are pulling an arrow from the Republican quiver from 2012, when the GOP urged partisans to cast a “single-shot” vote for Republican Josh Houston.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Although Sunday voting tilts left, turnout is light

Henderson County’s first-ever Sunday voting attracted a Democratic-leaning turnout of 672 voters, a total that was less than the daily average for one-stop voting so far this election.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

William Barber bringing 'Poor People's' campaign to Hendersonville

William Barber II, the civil rights activist who founded the Moral Majority movement, is bringing his national Poor People's Campaign to Hendersonville.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Cooper appoints District Court judge

Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday announced the appointment of C.W. “Mack” McKeller as District Court Judge for the Judicial District 29B, serving Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. McKeller will fill the vacancy created by Chief District Court Judge Athena Fox Brooks, who was appointed to a Special Superior Court judgeship earlier this year. McKeller served in the U. S. Navy for 13 years as a lieutenant commander and commanding officer. He is also the founding member of McKeller Law Firm in Brevard, representing clients in civil and criminal matters at the trial and appellate level. McKeller received his Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University. In July the District 29B Bar Association nominated five attorneys for the vacancy. Henderson County Clerk of Superior Court Kim Gasperson-Justice received the most votes, 52, followed by Jason R. Hayes and McKeller, the only Democrat, with 44 each. Other nominees were Robert P. Brackett Jr., who received 41 votes, and Ryan A. Bradley, with 24 votes. The list also included three Republicans — Gasperson-Justice, Hayes and Bradley — an unaffiliated voter, Brackett. Cooper's press secretary, Ford Porter, pointed out that Cooper has been bipartisan in judicial appointments. He appointed Brooks, a Republican, to the Special Superior Court seat. And in the batch of appointments announced Monday he also  appointed Annette Turik, a Republican, to the District Court bench in the jurisdiction serving Wayne, Lenoir and Greene counties. Cooper has one more appointment to a Henderson County-based judgeship. Chief Superior Court Judge Mark Powell retired from his seat on Oct. 1. McKeller has been practicing criminal and family law in Brevard since 1995. When they go to work in a courtroom lawyers “want to feel that their time is not wasted and they want a fair result and they want somebody that’s going to listen to them and treat their clients like people,” he said. Peering at the list of eight lawyers who applied, McKeller said they would all serve credibly. “I think we want someone who has experience. We want somebody who’s reasonably well-versed in the law and we want somebody who’s going to treat everybody that walks in that door like a human being. I promise that every day I’ll treat everybody who walks in that door (behind the judge’s bench) and that door (the public part of the courtroom) like a human being and I’ll respect everybody’s time and talent.”     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

⚡️ VOTER GUIDE: N.C. appellate court judges

Voters will elect one state Supreme Court justice and fill three Court of Appeals seats in the Nov. 6 election.   Read Story »

Four Seasons Politics Archive