Susan Jobe is grateful for the opportunity to serve as the Register of Deeds for Yancey County. Serving as Register of Deeds since 2015, Susan is a dedicated public servant taking care of your property deeds and most vital records.

Susan Jobe knows the people of Yancey County and is proud to serve the county where she was born and raised. She is the daughter of the late Everett and Nancy Crout, both of whom passed away in the mid-1980s when Susan was only 12. Susan is married to her high school sweetheart, Robbie Jobe. Together, Susan and Robbie have two sons, CJ – an electrical engineering graduate from Western Carolina University currently employed at Baxter – and Josh, a rising senior at Western Carolina University majoring in Business Management. Susan is proud of her strong faith and is blessed to have a strong church family at Bakers Creek Baptist Church where she is a long-time member.

Susan Jobe is experienced and knowledgeable in every aspect of the Register of Deeds Office. Susan worked 15 years as a legal assistant for a local attorney gaining experience in many types of legal documents before joining the Register of Deeds office. Susan is a state-certified register of deeds and has received other education and training to ensure her ability to safeguard our county’s most important records. The work of the Register of Deeds requires great attention to detail as Susan is responsible for all land records and deeds, as well as birth, death, marriage, and veteran records.

Susan Jobe works hard every day to ensure the citizens of Yancey County have a highly trained, dedicated, and professional Register of Deeds Office that is prepared to meet any challenge. Susan’s entire life experience has prepared and led her to the opportunity to serve the citizens of Yancey County as Register of Deeds.

Thank you for your continued support!

I am a proud Yancey County native and entrepreneur. My husband, Kenny Bryant, and I each run our own businesses. Fueled by family and a passion for our community, I am dedicated to shaping a brighter future by supporting small businesses, addressing mental health, fighting addiction, and strengthening foster care and social services in Yancey County.

Proudly calling Yancey County home since 1986, I spent 40 fulfilling years with the NC Farm Bureau Group, 34 of them right here. Now retired, I am a father of three amazing daughters who all attended and cherish our Yancey County Schools. Let’s bring back “live and let live” to local politics and reintroduce bipartisan cooperation for the betterment of Yancey County.

My name is Lavenia Peterson Burnette, and I am running for a seat on the Yancey County School Board of Education. My parents were Park and Kate Bailey Peterson, a farmer and a homemaker. Born and raised in Yancey County, I attended Clearmont and Burnsville Elementary Schools, East Yancey High School, and Mountain Heritage High School. I continued my education at Appalachian State University and graduated from Mars Hill College with a Bachelor of Arts in Education Grades 4-9 in 1983.

During my teaching career, I achieved my National Board Certification and Academically Gifted Certification. I taught Special Education at Mountain Heritage High School, English Language Arts, grades 6 and 8, at Cane River Middle School and East Yancey Middle School. I retired after 30.5 years of teaching in the Yancey County School System. After retirement, I continued to teach part time at Genesis Academy, grades 3-5, in Yancey County for four years.

I was the 2002-2003 Yancey County Teacher of the Year. I worked for the 21st Century After School Program, MAGIC, as a teacher and coordinator at East Yancey Middle School and a teacher at Burnsville Elementary School. I co wrote one of the 21st Century After School Grants for the Yancey County Schools which received 1.2 million dollars to extend the MAGIC Afterschool Program. I taught summer school English at Mountain Heritage High School and summer school reading at Cane River Middle School.

I am married to Kimmy Burnette who retired from Glen Raven. We have three children. Kyle Burnette is a graduate of Western Carolina University and owner of Southern Drifters Outfitters in Burnsville. Katie Burnette is a graduate of South College and a Surgical Tech at the VA Hospital in Asheville. Kirk Burnette is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and owner, along with his wife Samantha, of Burnette’s Country Store in Spruce Pine. I have been blessed with three wonderful grandchildren and another due in April of 2024 who already attend or will attend public schools.

As a parent and educator, I have been actively involved in various after school activities. I served as PTO president at Burnsville Elementary School, I was the first female Booster Club President at Mountain Heritage High School. I coached soccer, softball and basketball in the Yancey County youth league. I coached cheerleading and Odyssey of the Mind at Cane River Middle School and Volleyball at East Yancey Middle School. During my teaching career, I was a mentor for beginning teachers.

As a former educator, I am a believer in the value of public education, working collaboratively with others to solve problems and treating others with dignity and respect. I truly believe that politics and political influences have no place in our educational system. I will support our teachers and ensure that they are free to teach without fear of political interference or retaliation. I will be committed to the students, parents, administrators, staff and our community. I will make decisions based in the best interest of our students to ensure they receive the highest quality of education and promote every child’s mental, emotional and physical well-being. I will strive to adopt and maintain appropriate policies and practices that provide the best education to all our students. I will promote budgetary responsibility and transparency. I will work to unite the students, families, and educators in the pursuit of educational excellence throughout the Yancey County School System.

John Stallings has dedicated nearly half a century to the development and education of the youth of Yancey County.

From an early age, John knew his calling was to teach school and coach sports in order to help mentor and guide young folks to recognize their worth and build confidence.

John and his wife Melanie moved to Burnsville in 1978, and John began teaching social studies at Mountain Heritage High School.

John taught at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 2002 teaching Economics, Legal and Political Systems as well as U.S. History. He often served as the chair of the social studies department.

From 2003 until his retirement from full-time teaching in 2008, Mr. Stallings taught 6th-grade social studies at Cane River Middle School.

Mr. Stallings returned to Yancey County Schools after retirement to serve as a substitute teacher through 2021.

He was one of the county's first state-certified mentor teachers, receiving additional training to help prepare new teachers to be successful in their roles.

John coached football at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 1989 and at Cane River from 2003 to 2004. He returned to coaching football at Mountain Heritage from 2012 to 2014. He also coached softball at Mountain Heritage from 1978 to 1984 and at Cane River from 2003 to 2005.

Mr. Stallings is still active at Mountain Heritage, volunteering to provide motivational speaking to sports teams. He can also be heard on WKYK radio, broadcasting the play-by-play for Mountain Heritage football games.

His children, John David and Emily, attended Burnsville Elementary, East Yancey Middle, and Mountain Heritage. John David is now a teacher himself at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Emily worked in hospital administration and now lives in Raleigh.

Mr. Stallings has a strong religious faith and served as a sponsor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at Mountain Heritage for 14 years.

Mr. Stallings served one term as a Yancey County Commissioner (2016–2018), choosing not to seek an additional term. Public service runs in the Stallings family. His father, William Stallings, Sr., served on the school board in Rutherford County for 16 years and also served as a volunteer fireman. His brother, Bill Stallings, served as a Highway Patrolman in Yancey County in the 1970s.

I am Kim Wilson Higgins, the youngest daughter of Calvin and Faye Wilson. I am a native of the Seven Mile Ridge Community and currently reside in the Micaville Community. I am married to Burnsville native, Darrin B. Higgins, who is a long-time employee of Glen Raven. We have two sons: Logan is a junior honor student at UNC-Charlotte and is majoring in Electrical Engineering, and Lawson is an honors student and two-sport athlete in the junior class at Mountain Heritage High School.

I am running as a Yancey County School Board Candidate as a daughter, a mother, a wife, and, most importantly, as a TEACHER.

Yancey County is rooted in traditions of community, tenacity, and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of the next generation. Recently, however, the trajectory has changed, and traditions have been eclipsed by the ominous shadows of political pursuits. The focus of education is no longer on the students and teachers, and I can say this with certainty because I devoted 28 years to Yancey County Schools.

I pursued a career in teaching because I was inspired and encouraged by my mentor and Drafting Teacher, Mr B.R. Bailey. Following my passion, I have taught high school Mechanical and Architectural Drafting since my teaching career began in 1995, teaching drafting classes at Mtn Heritage High School and leading SkillsUSA for 28 years. During my tenure at MHHS, I sponsored the highly successful annual citrus fundraiser for the MHHS SkillsUSA Club that contributed to the Reconciliation House Food Ministries, I founded the Billy Ray Bailey SkillsUSA Scholarship for a SkillsUSA Member in 1989, and I have served as the Region 8 (Western 16 counties) SkillsUSA Club Advisor since 2009.

During this time, I also worked for various superintendents and administrators, and I experienced the ways in which the Board of Education directly impacts both an entire school community and the community at large. The climate that has been cultivated by our current BOE over the past four years has driven some of our greatest assets to seek employment in neighboring counties:

• Since 2020, four highly effective and award winning principals have left Yancey County to work in other counties. Two other administrators were forced into early retirement. Beginning in June 2023, 6 highly qualified teachers (including 3 National Board Certified and teacher of the year) left Mountain Heritage High School alone.

• One other teacher left teaching altogether. An Assistant Principal left Mtn Heritage to seek a counselor position in Buncombe County. Of those that left, 3 positions have not been filled: Drafting and Design, Drama/Theatre and 10th Grade English. The EOC English and Drama positions were absorbed by current faculty in the English Dept.

Many of the people who made the heartbreaking decision to leave were the same people who have encouraged, helped, and loved your children. Teachers pursue teaching because it is a passion that is fueled by the work of other great teachers. Yancey County is an award-winning school system in both academics and sports because of this community’s dedication to our children and because of the teachers who have devoted their lives to serving others.

At this point in time, however, I am scared for the future of Yancey County Schools. Teachers and school faculty/staff morale is at an all-time low across the nation. Yancey County is no different. I fear more principals and highly qualified teachers are going to leave the county for other school systems or seek early retirement because they do not feel supported. Teachers, staff, and faculty members need to be respected and trusted so that they have a voice to advocate for our students once again.

If teachers are unable to use their voices for fear of retaliation, who is advocating for the children of Yancey County?

I can certainly identify who is NOT advocating for the children of Yancey County:

• Yancey County Schools and the Yancey County Commissioners failed the students of Yancey County in last year's budget requests. Mitchell County received $54.3 million. $14.3 million was earmarked for Mitchell High athletic facilities. A new YMCA will also be built in Mitchell County.

• Yancey County received $4M: $2M for the Yancey County Sheriff’s Department, $1.8M for the Town of Burnsville Police and public works, and $200,000 for the Yancey County History Museum. What was awarded in the budget for Yancey County Schools? ZERO DOLLARS.

• Yancey County students were the only students in Western NC that were not provided free breakfast and lunch. Studies show students learn better if they are fed. A hot meal at school is the only meal many students receive each day.

Who is putting the needs of our children first? Because of the current state of affairs, students’ needs are not being met, and mental health is declining with each new year. As an educator, I feel we have to teach the “whole child.” It is our social responsibility to be concerned with their physical, emotional, and educational well being. It is now time to redirect our focus to the traditions that have made Burnsville, NC a safe, supportive, and loving place for our children to grow, learn, and thrive.

As a BOE member, I will work to ensure students have food security. I will be a voice for teachers, faculty, and staff members.

I believe in a fair and valuable education for all students regardless of their race, religion, sex, or demographic background, so I will advocate for all students.

I will work to move the Board of Education in Yancey County away from the partisan politics and biased decisions that have hurt our community and negatively affected generations to come. I want to position students and teachers at the forefront of the decision-making that impacts Yancey County Schools, so I will work with school leaders, local leaders, and community members to provide complete and total transparency as we move away from detrimental political games and towards a brighter future for our children and community.

Education Background

○ National Board Certified Teacher, Career and Technical Education 2001

○ BS Appalachian State University, Industrial Arts, Drafting Concentration, 1994

○ AAS, Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College, Civil Engineering

Technology, 1993

○ Mountain Heritage High School, graduate, 1989

• Currently teaching drafting in a neighboring county.

• I am the pianist and Teen Sunday School teacher at my local Baptist church.

Josh Stein (Democratic Party) is the Attorney General of North Carolina. He assumed office on January 1, 2017. His current term ends on January 1, 2025.

Josh Stein was born in Washington, D.C. He earned his B.A. in history from Dartmouth College in 1988, and his J.D. and M.P.P. in Law and Public Policy from Harvard University in 1995. Stein worked as a campaign manager and deputy chief of staff for Senator John Edwards from 1997 to 2000. From 2001 to 2008, Stein was the senior deputy attorney general for consumer protection. Before that, he worked with the Self-Help Credit Union and the North Carolina Minority Support Center. Before graduate school, Stein taught high school English and economics in Zimbabwe for two years.[1]

As of 2020, Stein served on the board of the Truth Initiative. He previously served on the Triangle Family Services advisory board and as co-chair for InterAct's capital campaign.

Click here to see Josh stein’s website.

Click here to see Josh Stein on Facebook

Jeff became the second-youngest senator in the state Senate in 2014. He was new to political office, but not new to public service, having enlisted after the attacks of September 11th, trained at Ft. Bragg, and served in Afghanistan. He continues to serve today as a Major in the Army National Guard. He is currently in his 19th year of military service.

In the state Senate and in Congress, Jeff has built a reputation for being transparent, accessible, and candid. Jeff has helped lead the fight against gerrymandering, stood against discriminatory legislation like HB2, supported investments in early childhood education, repeatedly called for raising teacher pay and expanding Medicaid, passed reforms for our criminal justice system, and called out corruption when he saw it.

Click here to see Jeff Jackson’s Website.

Maurice “Mo” Green has strived to be a champion for public education in North Carolina throughout a professional career that has included being a school district superintendent, a chief executive for a large foundation that awards grants supporting public education and a school board attorney. 

Mo served as the executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation from 2016-2023. Prior to ZSR, Mo served more than seven years as superintendent of Guilford County Schools – the third largest district in North Carolina. Before Guilford County Schools, Mo joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in 2001 as general counsel. In 2006, he was named chief operating officer and later moved into the role of deputy superintendent. Mo began his career as a lawyer in private practice after doing two United States judicial clerkships. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics and a law degree, both from Duke University. Mo is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi (the Boulé) fraternities. Mo is a longtime resident of North Carolina. He is married and has two adult children.

Click here to see Mo Green’s Website.

It has been a tremendous honor to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court since my appointment by Governor Roy Cooper in September of 2023. I’m excited about the opportunity to run in November 2024 for a full term on the court.

I’ve spent my entire career fighting for equal justice under the law for every person, regardless of wealth or skin color. Prior to my appointment to the North Carolina Court of Appeals (read my opinions here) and then to the North Carolina Supreme Court, I served as the Co-Executive Director for Programs and Chief Counsel for Voting Rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina. For the 14 years I was there, I had the privilege of advocating for those who had been marginalized and disenfranchised, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court in several landmark redistricting cases.

My passion for justice led me to become a justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, where I am building bridges to deliver on that promise of equal justice under the law. I'm proud to approach all the cases that have and will come before me with thoughtfulness, compassion, and a commitment to the rule of law, in areas ranging from criminal law to family law to business law. As a justice, my guiding principles are integrity, transparency, consistency and empathy. Justice for all means that the doors to the courthouse are not arbitrarily slammed shut, and I take seriously my role in making our judicial system accessible and understood.

I earned my Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and Juris Doctor all at the University of Florida. Since then, I have devoted myself to serving the community and my profession through associations ranging from the North Carolina Bar Association and to the American Constitution Society.

If elected to a full term, I will continue to work hard to ensure that the Supreme Court delivers justice to all North Carolinians without fear or favor.

Click here to see Allison Riggs Website.

Caleb Rudow is a Buncombe County native, Asheville High graduate, and the third generation of Rudows to call these beautiful mountains home. Caleb is proud to represent WNC in the NC General Assembly as a Democratic State House Representative for District 116 in Buncombe County.

Caleb stands for what matters to working families in WNC: lowering the cost of living, providing better paid jobs for workers, ensuring access to quality healthcare, supporting teachers and our amazing school system, reducing inequality, protecting our civil liberties, and ensuring the next generation inherits the beautiful environment we enjoy here in WNC and makes this place so special.

Caleb has a masters degree in Global Policy Studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He worked in grassroots international development as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia and a researcher in Honduras. He is fluent in Spanish and Chinyanja and speaks passable Chinsenga and Hebrew. Asheville has always been in his heart, but he has served and organized all over the world.

Caleb has dedicated his life to public service and at the heart of it all is his love for people, cultures, and working towards a common goal. He wants to work to improve WNC for all people, regardless of party, and believes his background in Spanish and cross cultural work will be an asset to reaching out to communities in the district, learning from them, and working to solve the issues they care about with common sense solutions.

Click here to go to Caleb’s website