{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Ellis Lawrence","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nEllis Lawrence is the Democratic incumbent commissioner for District 3, Seat 2, on the Chowan County Board of Commissioners, first elected to the seat in 2010 and continuously re-elected since \u2014 terms of December 2010\u20132014, 2014\u20132018, 2018\u20132022, and his current term, December 2022\u2013December 2026, according to the county government's own commissioners page [1]. He filed to run for re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Board of Commissioners \u2013 Chowan County, NC](https://www.chowancounty-nc.gov/index.asp?SEC=A0602267-5599-4BE3-9101-D1120C305EA9) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`) \u2014 https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"Ellis","lastname":"Lawrence","middlename":"E","suffix":null,"token":"afab01ada1994561"},"token":"sCZ8HZE4kYLvA9fm"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":"county_commission","office":"county_commission","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Chowan County Board Of Commissioners District 03 Seat 02"}