A few years ago, High Point decided to change municipal elections from odd years to even years in an attempt to get more eligible voters to the polls in conjunction with county, state and federal elections.

The North Carolina General Assembly approved the shift in 2006 and for the first election on the new schedule in 2008 (a presidential election year), nearly 32,000 High Pointers voted, almost six times as many as voted in the 2005 municipal election. It’s difficult to predict, a little more than five months prior to the Nov. 2 general election, what the local turnout will be but it is expected many more than the 5,599 who voted in 2005 will turn out.

The beginning of the filing period for High Point municipal elections is July 2 (running through the 16th) – more than five weeks away, and already competition is shaping up for Ward 1, where incumbent Bernita Sims is expected to seek re-election; in Ward 5, where incumbent Chris Whitley has announced he will seek another term; and in Ward 6, with John Faircloth leaving City Council to take the 61st state House of Representatives seat in January. It’s also likely that there will be more than one contender for the Ward 4 seat that will be vacant when Bill Bencini takes the District 2 seat on Guilford County Board of Commissioners at year’s end.

With all eight City Council seats and the mayor’s post up for grabs, it is encouraging to see folks stepping forward. Our hope is that the race for each of the nine positions will be contested. We need that level of interest in the future of our city.