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Murphy – Just days after losing his bid to become chair of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, Ben Adams announced Sunday he will not run for re-election in the March 2026 primary.
“Can’t get nothing done with the current makeup of the board,” Adams said during a Facebook virtual town hall Sunday.
Adams said his family is tired of him being a county commissioner, and the board is being run by three commissioners – referring to Alan Bryant, Dan Eichenbaum and Cal Stiles – instead of all five.
When he first took office four years ago, Adams was part of a three-commissioner majority on the board that included Stiles and then-commissioner Jan Griggs. However, Adams and Stiles have had a falling out, and Griggs lost in her re-election bid in 2024.
“It’s just not worth it,” Adams said.
Adams sought to become chairman of the board at the Dec. 1 meeting. He mustered support from just one other commissioner, Mark Stiles, who Adams reportedly helped get appointed to the board to fill a vacancy 12 months earlier.
Bryant was selected chair over Adams, while Cal Stiles was selected vice chair.
Adams also was outvoted at that meeting over a contract with the Valley River Humane Society, which the county pays $250,000 per year to house unwanted and stray animals, as well as animals brought there for law enforcement and public health reasons. Adams proposed a stricter contract than what other board members supported and was on the losing end of a 4-1 vote that ignored his plan.
With Adams out of the picture, his seat, District 3 (Murphy to Brasstown) is up for grabs. Two candidates filed for the office as of Monday morning: Cherokee County Board of Education member Steve Coleman and real estate broker Mark Stalcup.
In other seats on the board:
- Incumbent Cal Stiles has filed to defend his District 1 seat (Andrews to Topton) and is being challenged by Steve Jordan, who was tossed off the ballot for the Andrews Board of Aldermen earlier this year when it was determined he did not live inside town limits. Jordan has years of experience in elected office, including one term as county commissioner, but he came in third out of three candidates for commissioner in 2022, losing to Stiles.
- Appointed Commissioner Mark Stiles has filed for election in District 2 (Peachtree to Marble) and as of Monday evening had no challengers.
- Incumbent Eichenbaum has filed for re-election in District 4 (Hothouse, Culberson, Ranger and Bellview) and as of Monday had no challengers.
School board
In running for commissioner, Coleman is surrendering his at-large seat on the board of education, which is on the ballot in 2026.
District 2 (Murphy) school board member Jeannie Gaddis, a retired teacher, filed to run for re-election on Monday. As of Monday, no one else had filed for the four school board seats on the March 2026 ballot. Those seats, which align with the county’s high school enrollment districts, are occupied by Coleman (in the only at-large seat on the board), Gaddis in District 2 (Murphy), and Jason Murphy and Shannon Raper in District 3 (Hiwassee Dam).
Coleman was elected chair of the school board Thursday – replacing Raper, who has held the position for the past three years – which means Coleman will be chair of the school board while running for county commissioner. Both boards – commissioners and education – would seat newly elected members and select chair and vice chairs at the December 2026 meetings, so Coleman’s term as school board chair would not be interrupted no matter the outcome of the elections.
Sheriff
A third candidate has emerged in the race for Cherokee County sheriff. In addition to incumbent Dustin Smith and Chris Wood, Samuel May has filed for that office.
May said he was in the U.S. Army for more than 10 years and worked with Army Criminal Investigation Division. He moved to Cherokee County about four years ago and describes himself as a good leader and a “jack of all trades.” He said he has no experience in civilian law enforcement.
Smith has a career in law enforcement and was assistant chief of the Murphy Police Department before he was elected sheriff in 2022. Wood is career law officer and former N.C. Highway Patrol trooper.
Other legislative races
- U.S. Senate: Democrats Roy Cooper of Raleigh and Daryl Farrow of Jacksonville; Republicans Elizabeth A. Temple of Smithfield, Donald M. (Don) Brown of Waxhaw and Michael Whatley of Gastonia. Incumbent Thom Tillis is not running.
- U.S. House District 11: Democrats Jamie Ager of Fairview and Paul Maddox of Burnsville; Republicans Chuck Edwards of Flat Rock (incumbent) and Adam R. Smith of Fairview.
- N.C. Senate District 50: Republican Kevin Corbin of Franklin (incumbent).
- N.C. House District 120: Democrat Caleb Brown of Highlands; Republican Karl Gillespie of Franklin (incumbent).
- District Attorney District 43: Ashley Welch of Canton (incumbent).
Administrative offices
- Cherokee County register of deeds: Karen Wright of Andrews (Republican).
- Cherokee County clerk of Superior Court: Republican Amanda Anderson Carroll of Murphy (appointed).
Judicial races
- N.C. Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 1: Democrat Anita Earls of Durham; Republican Sarah Stevens of Mount Airy.
- N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 1: Democrat John Arrowood of Raleigh; Republicans Matt Smith of Monroe and Michael Byrne of Raleigh.
- N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 2: Democrat Toby Hampson of Raleigh; Republican George Cooper Bell of Cornelius.
- N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Seat 3: Democrats James Whalen of Raleigh and Christine Walczyk of Raleigh; Republican Craig Collins of Gastonia..
- N.C. District Court 43 Seat 1: Republican Donna Forga of Lake Junaluska.
- N.C. District Court 43 Seat 2: Democrat Justin B. Greene of Bryson City.
Want to run for office or vote in primary?
- The candidate filing period for the March 3 primary started Monday and ends at noon Friday, Dec. 19.
- The deadline to register to vote in the primary is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.
- In-person early voting is scheduled from Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, until 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
- In Cherokee County, where Republicans dominate the polls, the Tuesday, March 3, primary will likely determine every local elected office ahead of the Nov. 3 general elections. Independents can pick which party’s primary they want to vote in.