{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Lee Dedmon","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Leroy Pinkney Dedmon JR is a registered voter in Gaston County, North Carolina, registered since 1976 (50 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Leroy Pinkney Dedmon JR's year of birth as 1947; NC publishes only the year of birth in its bulk voter export, so day and month are not part of the public record [1].\n\nThe voter history file shows 16 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the 2026-03-03 primary election [2].\n\nThis summary draws only from the public North Carolina voter registration and history records. No additional published biographical information was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Leroy Pinkney Dedmon JR can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 Voter Search](https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Leroy","lastname":"Dedmon","middlename":"Pinkney","suffix":"JR","token":"aa2c20026e23a135"},"token":"3k9U7gJuCwpxxGVU"},{"candidatename":"Che'z (Shea) Adams","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nChe'Z L Adams \u2014 who also goes by \"Shea\" \u2014 is the Democratic candidate for the Gaston County Board of Education's Gastonia Township seat in the November 3, 2026 general election [1][2]. Her campaign priorities include teacher pay, school facilities, and instructional resources; she has said higher salaries are needed to keep teachers from leaving for higher-paying counties and has called for improved facilities to boost staff morale [3]. She has also emphasized support for low-income schools, preserving arts programming, student mental-health services, and safe sports facilities, and has opposed removing library materials from schools [2][3].\n\n## Background and education\n\nAdams is originally from Tallahassee, Florida, and moved to Gastonia in 1990 [2]. She holds a bachelor's degree in health care management from Florida A&M University [1][2].\n\n## Career\n\nAdams works as an exceptional-children's teacher specializing in children's mental health [1][3]. She has also worked as a foster care case manager, substitute teacher, and behavioral therapist, and one candidate profile lists prior work as a financial manager for political campaigns [1][2].\n\n## Office history\n\nThis is not Adams's first run for the seat. Candidate-guide profiles describe an earlier, unsuccessful candidacy around 2020 and a second unsuccessful run in the November 2024 general election, when she appeared on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate for the same Gastonia Township seat [1][2]. For the 2026 cycle she entered the Democratic primary; one source lists Leroy \"Lee\" Dedmon as her primary opponent [4].\n\n## Family\n\nAdams is the mother of one son [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Che'z (Shea) Adams \u2014 Branch Vote candidate profile](https://www.branch.vote/races/2024-nc-general-election-nc-state-county-board-of-education-member-nc-county-gaston-3/candidates/che'z-(shea)-adams) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[2] [Che'z (Shea) Adams \u2014 The Election Hub candidate profile](https://www.theelectionhub.org/mecklenburg-county/che'z-(shea)-adams/2026-primary/gaston) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[3] [Gaston Board of Education Candidates Outline Priorities \u2014 Future Education Magazine](https://futureeducationmagazine.com/gaston-board-of-education/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n[4] [Che'z Adams (Gaston County Schools, Gastonia Township, North Carolina, candidate 2026) \u2014 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Che'z_Adams_(Gaston_County_Schools,_Gastonia_Township,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2026)) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19 (last resort; only source found naming her primary opponent)","firstname":"Che'Z","lastname":"Adams","middlename":"L","suffix":null,"token":"74780c083eaf2721"},"token":"AdGKwZJYyImfwPfa"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board","office":"county_school_board","officedescription":"A school board member serves on the elected body that governs a public school district. The board sets district policy and budget priorities and hires and evaluates the superintendent, while leaving day-to-day management to the administration.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment for a public school district \u2014 setting direction while leaving day-to-day management to the superintendent.\n- Budget literacy for operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the county commission (which appropriates) and the state.\n- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent \u2014 the board's highest-stakes recurring decision.\n- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County School Board Member","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Gaston County Board Of Education Gastonia Twp"}