It was a busy first day of filing Monday for candidates in Sampson County seeking office in 2020.

Filing kicked off at noon Monday and the period will extend until noon Friday, Dec. 20. Locally, two Sampson County commissioner seats, three Sampson County Schools Board of Education seats, three seats on the Clinton City Schools Board of Education and a contest for the Sampson County Register of Deeds are open in 2020.

Statewide, both N.C. House seats with Sampson ties — Districts 21 and 22 — are also up for grabs. They are occupied by Democrat Raymond Smith Jr. and Republican William Brisson, respectively. Brent Jackson’s Senate District 10 seat is also open in 2020. The general election, coinciding with the Presidential Election, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.

On Monday, several threw their hats in the ring.

Register of Deeds

For Anita Lane, Monday’s filing was a long time coming. She announced back in March 2019 that she would be seeking the Register of Deeds position and her name went on the dotted line nine months later.

Lane spent 13 years working in the Register of Deeds office, 12 of them as assistant register under both Republican Paulette King and Democrat Eleanor Bradshaw, who stepped down from the Register post in August. While working in the Register of Deeds office, she pursued and received her certification from the University of North Carolina School of Government. Lane previously worked with the Farm Service Agency for seven years.

Lane, a Republican, is currently the senior planner for Sampson County, a position she has held since May 2018.

“I have a passion to serve the people of this county,” said Lane. “I love and respect the service that this office provides. I would be honored to serve Sampson County as (its) next Register of Deeds.”

She asked for citizens’ prayers and support — and their vote.

“I am running for the Register of Deeds because I believe this office to be a vital part of our community,” Lane said. “It’s where our legal documents such as our birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, as well as our deeds and deeds of trust, military DD214’s and powers of attorney — just to name a few — are recorded, housed and protected.”

Following Bradshaw’s retirement, Freddie Butler was selected by the local Democrat Party to be her replacement and subsequently appointed to the post by the Sampson Board of Commissioners, essentially a formality as required by law for unexpired terms, as in Bradshaw’s case. Bradshaw was serving her third term as register, a post she held since 2008.

The unexpired term, now filled by Butler, expires November 2020.

Having served the people of Sampson County for a total of 20-plus years, Lane said in March that she wanted to pursue the Register of Deeds post as a request from her late father, Clyde.

“My dad knew how much I loved working at the Register of Deeds office and asked me about a year ago if I would promise him that one day I would run for that position,” Lane said back in March. “I told my dad that when and if the time was right, that I would. That time has come.”

Lane is the daughter of the late Clyde and Linda Honeycutt. She has been married to Randy Lane for 36 years, and they have two sons, Jonathan and Justin, and two grandchildren, Kenner, 6, and Wiley, 3. Anita and Randy has been active members of Grove Park Baptist Church for more than 26 years.

County commissioners

Also on Monday, both Sampson County commissioner incumbents filed to retain their seats, including Democrat Harry Parker for District 4 and Republican Jerol Kivett for District 2. Parker is seeking his third term, and Kivett is in pursuit of his second.

Parker is the longest tenured member. He is seeking his third term.

Now retired, Parker worked 27 years with Sampson County, first for 13 years as a sheriff’s deputy. A stint as a state employee with the N.C. Justice Academy followed for seven years before Parker returned to work with the county for another 14 years as a fire inspector, later being promoted to fire marshal.

He also served in the U.S. Army prior to coming to work with the county. A Salemburg resident, Parker is married to wife Alvinia Parker, who was a longtime employee at Sampson County Department of Social Services and a part-time nurse with Skill Creation in Clinton.

The couple have two children, Maggen Draughon and Travis Parker.

Kivett is the president and CEO of a furniture business, which bears his name. He’s a Clinton High School graduate and is a lifelong resident of Sampson County.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve,” Kivett said Monday.

Like Lane, Kivett recalled the words of a parent that has bolstered him along — those of his mother Christine Kivett, who passed away earlier this year at 94 years old.

“At 94 years old, she told me ‘we can all do a little bit more,’” said Kivett, who conceded that he was taken aback by the sentiment from his mother. It was unexpected, but not surprising. “She believed in serving and she served the Lord in that manner.”

The words of his mother resonated with Kivett.

“As a lifelong Sampsonian, I just feel I can do a little bit more to help,” he said.

Sampson Board of Education

Shannon Wayne Naylor, of the Herring community, filed Monday for the Sampson County Board of Education, as did Sandra Carroll, a former school teacher and current vice-chairperson for the Sampson Community College Board of Trustees.

Currently, three seats are available for the board, including those being held by Tim Register, Tracy Dunn and Patrick Usher.

With children in the school system, Naylor served on several committees at local schools. If elected, he would like to do a lot more.

“I feel that I could give back to the community by working with the students, parents, all the stakeholders involved, and administrators to make Sampson County the best we can make it,” he said.

He added that the work involves making sure all of the schools are up to a certain level to make sure everyone is reaching their full potential. Naylor feels it’s also important to be a good leader to help parents and community members.

“We have some things coming down the road with facilities that we need to address with county commissioners and legislators to work and push those things through to see if we can get those things solved to make sure that our children have the best learning facilities that we can get,” Naylor said.

Naylor is the son of the late Clerk of Court Norman Wayne Naylor. After graduating from Midway High School, he graduated from North Carolina State University’s Agricultural Institute. He’s now a contract pork producer for Smithfield Foods and served as a chief for the Herring Fire Department and is currently the vice president for the board of directors.

Naylor attends Robert’s Grove Free Will Baptist Church, where he served as finance chair and is a member of Cape Fear Farm Credit’s advisory board out of Dunn. If things goes his way, he’ll add the Sampson School Board to his list of duties and said he’ll always be a phone call away.

“I just want to be a good conduit for the parents, the teachers and all of Sampson County to facilitate and see what we can do if there’s a problem,” he said about needs such as technology and other matters important to students, parents and teachers.

He is married to Lisa Dixon Naylor, and together they have two children who are products of the Midway District. McKenzie graduated from Midway High School and is now a freshman at Campbell University; and Edye is a freshman at Midway High.

N.C. House District 21

Eugene Pearsall, a local businessman and owner of Eugene’s Trucking in Faison, filed for the North Carolina House of Representatives District 21 seat. If elected, Pearsall would like to focus on affordable health care, education, and employment for people in Sampson and Wayne counties.

Along with wanting to see teachers receive pay raises and better benefits, Pearsall stressed that the area needs better schools in both Wayne and Sampson counties.

“We need new schools here,” he said while mentioning difference between districts such as the Midway and Hobbton areas. “Hargrove Elementary School is really bad and Hobbton is falling down.”

Pearsall also mentioned lottery funding and questioned if the funds were going towards education, when it comes to money being handled by commissioners or by school board.

“We need to get a clear answer about how this funding is being used,” he said.

For job-related matters, Pearsall would like to see employment that provides a livable wage and job readiness training that reflects the employment needs of each county. He currently serves as the vice-chair on the Sampson Workforce Development Board.

“We send people to school and find them jobs,” Pearsall said. “That’s very important here. A lot of people don’t even know about Workforce Development Board, but it’s free, and we have good success stories all the time.”

To help residents with affordable health care needs, Pearsall believes everyone should have a right to a comprehensive health care system and that all families and individuals should have affordable medical care and services.

In addition to the Workforce Development, the Sampson County native is also a supporter of the Head Start program as a former chairman, Advisory Board for the Hobbton District, the Chamber of Commerce, and served youths as a coach. He is married to his wife, Cheryl and they have three children, Erika, Jordan, and Jenna.

https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_election-mug-1.jpg

Anita Lane is surrounded by a bevy of family members, friends and well-wishers during her Monday filing for Register of Deeds.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_anita-1.jpgAnita Lane is surrounded by a bevy of family members, friends and well-wishers during her Monday filing for Register of Deeds. Chris Berendt|Sampson Independent

Sampson County commissioner Jerol Kivett signs on the dotted line Monday to run for reelection to his District 2 seat.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_jerol-1.jpgSampson County commissioner Jerol Kivett signs on the dotted line Monday to run for reelection to his District 2 seat. Chris Berendt|Sampson Independent

Eugene Pearsall files for North Carolina House of Representatives District 21 with family and supporters present.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_Pearsall-1.jpgEugene Pearsall files for North Carolina House of Representatives District 21 with family and supporters present. Chase Jordan|Sampson Independent

Harry Parker files for another term as County Commissioner, next to his wife Alvinia Parker. Community member Patty Cherry also showed support.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_Parker-1.jpgHarry Parker files for another term as County Commissioner, next to his wife Alvinia Parker. Community member Patty Cherry also showed support. Chase Jordan|Sampson Independent

Shannon Wayne Naylor, of the Herring community, files for a seat on the Sampson County Board of Education, with family and supporters.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_Naylor-1.jpgShannon Wayne Naylor, of the Herring community, files for a seat on the Sampson County Board of Education, with family and supporters. Chase Jordan|Sampson Independent
Candidates for 2020 announce intent on first day

By Chris Berendt

and Chase Jordan