{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"William (Bill) Jones","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWilliam Joseph Jones, known as Bill Jones, is a District Court Judge for Judicial District 43, serving Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in Western North Carolina. He was appointed to the court by Governor Josh Stein in February 2025, filling the vacancy created when Judge Roy Wijewickrama was appointed to the Superior Court in November 2024. He was sworn in on March 3, 2025, at the Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville.\n\n## Background and education\nJones grew up in Sylva, Jackson County, North Carolina. He earned his bachelor's degree from Western Carolina University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill.\n\n## Career\nBefore graduating from law school, Jones interned in the district attorney's office covering the seven western counties. After admission to the bar, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for the 30th Judicial District from 1998 to 2003. He then entered private practice, working as a solo practitioner for more than two decades specializing in domestic and criminal law. After his marriage, he relocated to Waynesville in Haywood County.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Governor Stein Announces District Court Appointment \u2013 NC Governor](https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2025/02/20/governor-stein-announces-district-court-appointment)\n- [2] [New district court judge has more than two decades of Haywood ties \u2013 The Mountaineer](https://www.themountaineer.com/news/new-district-court-judge-has-more-than-two-decades-of-haywood-ties/article_c5cb3c84-f8a5-11ef-8f70-87ed65d8f978.html)\n- [3] [Governor appoints new WNC judge \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/39137-governor-appoints-new-wnc-judge)","firstname":"William","lastname":"Jones","middlename":"Joseph","suffix":null,"token":"89c96126519f36cc"},"token":"U9qCXC2h09FfPCDI"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"district_court_judge","office":"district_court_judge","officedescription":"In North Carolina, a district court judge presides over the high-volume lower trial court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and most family and juvenile matters (custody, support, domestic violence, abuse/neglect). Many litigants appear without lawyers.","officequalities":"- Judge of a high-volume district court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and family and juvenile matters, often with unrepresented parties.\n- Judicial temperament: the willingness to listen, deliberate, and apply the law dispassionately to people whose lives are deeply affected by the outcome.\n- Impartiality and ethics under the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct, including recusal when conflicts arise.\n- Working knowledge of family, juvenile, and criminal procedure and the precedent that controls.\n- Efficient management of a heavy docket while honoring due process.\n- Accessibility and clarity for the many who appear without counsel.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"District Court Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc District Court Judge District 43 Seat 03"}