{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Joey Wilson","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Joseph Arlen Wilson is a registered voter in Macon County, North Carolina, registered since 2017 (9 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Joseph Arlen Wilson's year of birth as 1979; 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 12 elections voted in since 2018, 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 Joseph Arlen Wilson can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n**Update: Wilson (running on the ballot as \"Joey Wilson\") lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for Macon County Board of Commissioners District 01.** He placed second of three candidates with 1,964 votes; John Shearl won the Republican nomination with 2,415 votes. Wilson will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for this seat, per certified North Carolina State Board of Elections results [3].\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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 election results (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24\n","firstname":"Joseph","lastname":"Wilson","middlename":"Arlen","suffix":null,"token":"491d977920573d63"},"token":"3cXpflTSJv4-WxFc"},{"candidatename":"John Shearl","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"John Allen Shearl is the incumbent Republican commissioner for Macon County Board of Commissioners District\u202f1 and is seeking re\u2011election in the 2026 general election held on November\u202f3,\u202f2026. He first won the District\u202f1 seat in the November\u202f8,\u202f2022 general election and has served on the board since then, participating in budget, capital\u2011improvement and personnel decisions for the county [1][4][10].\n\nShearl grew up in Franklin, North Carolina, and graduated from Franklin High School. He is a licensed North Carolina contractor and the founder of Shearl Produce, Inc., a family\u2011owned business in Otto that he has operated for more than three decades. He also owns J&J Lawn Service and Home Maintenance in Highlands. In addition to his business career, Shearl served as a Highlands firefighter and medical responder, and later retired from the Highlands Fire Department. He has been a member of the Macon County Planning Board and coached baseball at Highlands High School, earning the school\u2019s \u201cService to the School\u201d award [4].\n\nDuring his first term on the commission, Shearl emphasized low taxes, property\u2011rights protection, and fiscal restraint. He opposed a proposed grading\u2011license requirement for land\u2011disturbing activities, arguing it infringed on private property rights, and he voted against the county\u2019s premium\u2011pay plan for employees, questioning the legality of using ARPA funds for that purpose [8][10]. He has also spoken about the pending tax revaluation, capital\u2011improvement projects, and the need for high\u2011speed internet access in the county, promising to scrutinize expenditures and, when appropriate, place major projects before voters via referenda [5][12].\n\nShearl\u2019s personal life includes his wife Lila Munger Shearl, three sons\u2014Allen, Michael, and Jared\u2014and several grandchildren. He lists his email as JOHN.SHEARL@MACONNC.ORG and his phone number as (828)\u202f342\u20116289, both provided by the Macon County GOP site [4].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [John Shearl (Macon County Board of Commissioners District 1, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/John_Shearl_(Macon_County_Board_of_Commissioners_District_1,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022))\n- [4] [Macon County Info \u2014 Macon County GOP](https://macongop.org/macon-county-info)\n- [5] [Seven running for Commissioner seats, pt. 1 | The Highlander, Highlands, North Carolina](https://www.highlandsnews.com/regional-news/seven-running-commissioner-seats-pt-1)\n- [7] [Candidate Profiles: Macon County Commissioners District I - The Southern Scoop](https://thesouthernscoopnews.com/latest-news/candidate-profiles-macon-county-commissioners-district-i)\n- [8] [Republicans vie for Macon commissioner seat](https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/24674-republicans-vie-for-macon-commissioner-seat)\n- [9] [John shearl](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/itemlist/tag/John%20shearl)\n- [10] [Mayhem in Macon](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/36817-mayhem-in-macon)\n- [12] [Macon commission candidates address issues facing county](https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/34302-macon-commission-candidates-address-issues-facing-county)","firstname":"John","lastname":"Shearl","middlename":"Allen","suffix":null,"token":"53c1ba6684a23d01"},"token":"yZBv7kQFWzMoWGLB"},{"candidatename":"Don Willis","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"According to the North Carolina voter file, Donald Lee Willis JR is a registered voter in Macon County, North Carolina, registered since 1988 (38 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Donald Lee Willis JR's year of birth as 1961; 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 9 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 Donald Lee Willis JR can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n**Update: Willis (running on the ballot as \"Don Willis\") lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for Macon County Board of Commissioners District 01.** He placed third of three candidates with 1,929 votes; John Shearl won the Republican nomination with 2,415 votes. Willis will not appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for this seat, per certified North Carolina State Board of Elections results [3].\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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, certified March 3, 2026 election results (`results_pct_20260303.txt`), https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_pct_20260303.zip \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24\n","firstname":"Donald","lastname":"Willis","middlename":"Lee","suffix":"JR","token":"d0f2e04becda21ae"},"token":"kIZQCBKGfyCVkZkt"}],"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":"Macon County Board Of Commissioners District 01"}