High Point Ward Elections

NOTE: Jason Ewing is running unopposed in Ward 6

Ward 1

Jeffrey Golden vs Willie Davis

Even though I had issues with Golden during his first term when he consistently sided with the anti-revitalization forces, he has made up for it.

The fact that Willie Davis is running against Golden for the third consecutive cycle means that this should be the least competitive contest. Also, he no-showed the candidate forum earlier this month, depriving some sectors of the population the chance to hear his platform.

Ward 2

Chris Williams vs David Bagley

Williams is running for a second term and was the only candidate who listed crime as his #1 priority during the October 3 forum. In a lot of ways, he's right. The year started off with a rash of homicides, but the issue has been put on the backburner due to the Catalyst Project taking up all of the air. Murders in the city have returned to a rate that was last seen in 1998--horrible. It's time to address the blight in the eastern part of the city that eventually leads to homicides and the heroin epidemic getting out of hand.

I admire Bagley's enthusiasm but he should consider a run for a school board seat instead of a city council seat.

Ward 3

Megan Longstreet vs Monica Peters

Either woman would be an asset to the creative community.

Longstreet's top priority is tackling the blight in the ward, namely opioid abuse and poverty as southwest High Point is one of the poorest in town.

Even though the outgoing seat holder Alyce Hill has endorsed her, Peters first showed her chops working alongside Ryan Saunders in planning Dinner With A Side of Culture event at the Pit in 2014. After the latter left for Greensboro later that year, Mrs. Peters has had to pick up the slack as City Council slowly realized that revitalizing the center city was a necessity. She also organized other events like the EbFest Music Festival and launched We "Heart" High Point. As far as I'm concerned, Monica Peters is the real deal for creatives--and the best out of all the candidates in both cities.

Ward 4

Jim Bronnert vs Wesley Hudson

Just as I thought I had it all figured out, it turned out that Hudson's lead was the result of the Jay Wagner effect. This seemed to be Bronnert's to lose given Hudson was the outsider who as recently moved from Winston-Salem and the seat was open due to Wagner's mayoral run. Given what happened, this is a difficult one for me so I have decided to endorse both candidates.

Ward 5

Victor Jones vs Chris Whitley

Jones bucked the trend: He moved from Raleigh to High Point instead of the other way around. He would be a breath of fresh air over the longtime politician Whitley, who was on and off City Council between 1992 and 2012.