McDowell County Candidates Forum set for Thursday, Oct. 15, as early voting begins
McDowell voters will get a chance to meet local candidates in the 2026 general election face-to-face and hear them answer questions about the issues facing McDowell County.
And it will be held on the same day when early voting starts in the North Carolina elections.
The McDowell County Candidates Forum will be held on Thursday, Oct. 15, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Marion Community Building. This is an important opportunity to hear directly from local candidates for the McDowell Board of Education, the McDowell County Board of Commissioners and the N.C. House of Representatives. The event is hosted by West Marion Inc., according to a news release.
Ginger Webb is the community engagement director with West Marion Inc. She said all six candidates for the McDowell County Board of Commissioners have committed to participate. They are Republicans Chris Allison, Tony Brown and David Walker, along with Democrats Terry English, Matt Suttles and Stephanie Tenery.
The two candidates for N.C. House District 85 — Republican Dudley Greene and Democrat Suzanne Gavenus — have committed as well. Sarah Skinner, the Democratic candidate for the Marion seat on the McDowell Board of Education, has also committed to participate. Marvin Greer, the Republican candidate for the seat, emailed that he could not attend, Webb said.
“However, I've kept him in the loop with correspondence sent to all candidates, so I will have a seat and name placard for him just in case he shows up,” Webb added.
The moderator will be A.T. Harrison. He is a trained community organizer and internationally recognized community development scholar with numerous books, articles and reports in circulation. He is also a member of the North Carolina Community Land Trust Coalition and a Research Associate at the University of Toronto’s Housing Justice Lab, where he supports the Community Land Trust movement in the United States and abroad, according to Webb.
A light dinner and childcare will be provided to all attendees. The format will be an equal-time, question-and-answer session. All questions will directly relate to the candidates' experience and qualifications for the office they seek.
“I have also encouraged the candidates to speak with attendees informally after the event concludes,” Webb said.
In addition, the event will be livestreamed on the Voter Engagement and Education Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VoterEngagementMcDowell and professionally recorded by CKB Productions.
“I hope local residents take this opportunity to hear directly from candidates to become informed voters in the midterm general election,” she said.
For more information about the forum, email ginger@westmarion.org.
Early voting starts on Thursday, Oct. 15
On the same day, early voting starts in North Carolina’s elections.
The early voting period begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and ends Saturday, Oct. 31.
Early voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, and Friday, Oct. 16; from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17; from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct 23; from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct 30; and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, according to information from the McDowell County Board of Elections.
There will be two early voting locations here in McDowell: the McDowell County Board of Elections at 2458 N.C. 226 South in Marion and the Old Fort Depot, 25 W. Main St., Old Fort. Persons who are not registered in McDowell County may register and vote during early voting.
Voter registration deadline was Friday, Oct. 9, by 5 p.m. No partisan changes can be made after the voter registration deadline.
Absentee ballot request form deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 20, by 5 p.m. Absentee ballot return deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 3, to the Board of Elections Office by 7:30 p.m., according to information from the McDowell County Board of Elections.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day.
For more information, contact the McDowell County Board of Elections at 828-659-0834.
