Voters pick 3 council seats Tuesday

Published 11:36 am Friday, October 30, 2015

By Dwight Sparks

The Clemmons Courier

It’s finally time for the voters to decide municipal elections in Lewisville and Clemmons. On Tuesday, Clemmons voters will choose among the seven candidates for three village council seats.

Mayor Nick Nelson, unopposed, will also be on the ballot for his second term as mayor. He served previously as a council member. “I do not believe our work is done,” Nelson said. “I know in the next two years we will continue to tackle infrastructure and development concerns. My intent as mayor is to lead the charge and hold our council accountable to the promise we all make as elected officials, that we will represent Clemmons to the best of our ability. That means tangible results that citizens can see, roads they can use and cost effective decisions. The Village’s greatest assets are our neighborhoods and local business, we must protect that.”

Three of the village council’s five seats are up for grabs next week.

Two incumbents, Norman Denny and Bill Lawry, are on the ballot. The third incumbent, Darrell Roark, did not seek re-election.

Nelson is the chief compliance officer for Kensington Financial Group and owner of Blue Bridge Insurance of Winston-Salem. He and his wife Catherine have an infant son born in June.

Among the council candidates:

• Norman Denny is an incumbent and a long-time volunteer for OK West Booster Club at West Forsyth High, working Friday nights during football season at the school. He was elected four years ago as a write-in candidate.

• Bill Lawry is a two-year incumbent and has advocated 2nd Amendment rights. He was part of an effort to remodel and expand the Clemmons Library at its current site rather than build a new facility.

• Chris Wrights is a Clemmons native who owns Wrights Nursery ad Landscaping and is a member of the Clemmons planning board. He and wife Abbie have two children. He is a Sunday School teacher and member of Center Grove Baptist church.

• Mike Combest is a decorated and retired brigadier general who served in the U.S. Army. He is a native of Oklahoma and a graduate of West Point. He is a member of the Clemmons planning board, the Clemmons Rotary Club and the Jerry Long Family YMCA board of directors.

• Jill Osborn has written The Courier’s “Neighbor” column for nearly four years. She is a stay-at-home mother of three children. She and husband Justin are members of Holy Family Catholic Church. She has published two books of her columns. She worked in television and in Washington, D.C., before returning to Clemmons to raise a family.

•Jack Ingle is a former council member seeking to return to the board. He is a retired Winston-Salem police officer now operating a real estate agency. He was among the organizers of the Tanglewood Dog Park and is a member of the Lewisville-Clemmons Chamber of Commerce. He and wife Patricia have three children and seven grandchildren.

• Lanny Farmer lives in Clemmons West and is a member of Cavalry Baptist Church where he has taught Sunday School and sings with the adult choir. He is a member of the Clemmons Planning Board. He is retired from Bristol Myers Squibb and is a past president of the Clemmons Civic Club. He can occasionally be seen acting as a greeter at the Chick-fil-A on Peace Haven Road.

In Lewisville, long-time board member Mike Horn is the lone candidate for mayor. Incumbent mayor Dan Pugh is stepping down because of the town’s term limit rule.

Candidates for Lewisville council include Fred Franklin, Robert Greene, Sandra Mock, Matthew Stewart Robinson, Kenneth Sadler, Harold E. Smith Jr. and Jeffrey Alan Zenger. Lewisville board members serve two year terms.

One of the more contentious issues for Clemmons was apparently settled Monday night when the council voted to buy land on Stadium Drive for a new library. Forsyth County has $6 million allocated for a new library. The board had voted once to expand the existing facility before altering its plans.