Persons seeking to be on the November ballot seeking election to a municipal office in the Roanoke-Chowan area began the process when candidate filing began Friday (July 5) at 12 noon.

In BertieCounty six of the county’s eight mayoral seats are up for election.

The mayors of Colerain and Aulander will not be seeking office this year as they were elected to four-year terms in November of 2011.

The following seats are up for election with the incumbents listed.

Mayoral elections are set for Askewville (John Pierce), Kelford (Bailey Parker), Lewiston-Woodville (Carl Lee), Roxobel (Gary Johnson), Powellsville (Thomas Asbell), and Windsor (Jim Hoggard).

In all eight municipalities the seats of the following town commissioner spots will be up for grabs in the county’s eight municipalities.

In Askewville there are three seats available (Kay Brantley, Gloria Bryant, and Michael Baker are up for re-election).

The town of Kelford has five commissioner seats available, currently held by Harvey Bland, James Bland, John Eaton, Letitia Harris, and Frank Harris.

Roxobel has four council seats on the ballot. They are currently held by Henry Boschen, Sammy Pruden, Stanley Harrell, and David Bailey, Sr.

In Powellsville, three council seats are available and they are currently held by James Peele, Carlyle Hoggard, and J.T. Watford.

The town of Aulander has three seats, now held by Ron Poppell, Jason Tinkham, and Dennis Wilder.

In Colerain, the unexpired term of council member Thomas Waicul will be on the ballot. Anthony Rawls was appointed to the seat upon Waicul's resignation. The person winning the seat will be in office through 2015.  Colerain has three other board members up for re-election in Bill Harrell, Duncan Hughes, and Robert Kaylor.

In Lewiston Woodville, a council member from each district is up for re-election. This includes Dayle Vaughan's seat in the Lewiston District, while in the Woodville District, the term of Martha Thompson expires.

Windsor Town Council members David Overton and Joe Alexander will be up for reelection this year, and two other seats on that board will be on the ballot: the unexpired term of the late Collins Cooper will be on the ballot. Cooper died shortly after being reelected to his second term with Kathy Wilson appointed to serve his term. Wilson can seek election to the final two years of Cooper's original term.

Also, the unexpired term of Hoyt Cooper, who resigned after moving out of town, will be on the ballot. Cooper was replaced on the board by Lawrence Carter Jr. who may also seek to fill the final two years of Cooper’s term.

Those seeking office must file at the office of the Bertie County Board of Elections and can do so from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. each weekday during the filing period.

In Hertford County, the town of Ahoskie will have three of five seats up for election: the seat in Ward-A held now by C. Malcolm Copeland, the Ward-B seat held by Winfred Hardy, Jr., and the At-Large seat occupied by Linda Blackburn, who was appointed to serve out the term of O.S. “Buck” Suiter, who resigned.

The town of Como will have four commissioner seats (Kevin Higbee, Susan Kennington, Stephen Pearce, and Ann Spruill) as well as the town mayor position currently held by Irvin Lee Stephens, Sr. on the ballot.

In Cofield, Mayor Hermea Pugh is up for re-election, along with five commissioner’s seats (Anthony Archer, Nettie Teen Combo Brickers, Stephen Lassiter, Darrell T. Partlow, and June S. Wynn).

Harrellsville mayor Robert D. Dantz’s office will be on the ballot along with five commissioner positions (Deborah A. Baker, Coleman Taylor, Mary L. Thompson, Jo M. Liles, and Roy Worrells, Jr.).

Dantz was one of the early ones to file for re-election, signing up on the first day. Also filing on July 5 (Friday) was Lisa Ann Hunnicutt for one of Harrellsville’s town council seats.

Murfreesboro had sought to have staggered terms for its town council, but in 2013, all five seats will be contested. The current commissioners are Randy Roberts, Sarah Whitley Wallace, Hal Thomas, Gloria Odum, and Craig Dennis.

The mayor’s post, held by John Hinton, will also be up for election.

Finally in Hertford County, Winton mayor Tiffany Lewis will seek another term while town council seats held by Wesley Liverman, Ernest Green, Will Liverman, Emily Winstead, and McCoy Pierce will be on the ballot.

Municipal filing also began Friday in Northampton County. There, Board of Elections Director Susie Squiresaid the following seats are up for election this year:

Conway – Mayor and 5 commissioners;

Garysburg – Mayor and 5 commissioners;

Gaston – Mayor and 2 commissioners;

Jackson – 3 commissioners;

Lasker – Mayor and 3 commissioners;

Rich Square - Mayor and 5 commissioners;

Seaboard - Mayor and 3 commissioners;

Severn - Mayor and 5 commissioners;

Woodland – 2 commissioners; and

Three seats on the Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District.

Filing throughout the R-C area will end at 12 noon on Friday, July 19, two weeks after it opened, with Election Day 2013 set for Tuesday, Nov. 5.