{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Robert (Robbie) Brown","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nRobert Thorpe Brown, known as Robbie Brown, is the Republican candidate for Swain County Commission Chairman in the November 2026 general election. He won the 2026 Republican primary with 510 votes and will face Democrat Jeramy Shuler in the fall.\n\nBrown's stated campaign priorities include adequately funding the public school system, collaborating with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and neighboring county boards of commissioners, and improving Swain County's infrastructure and county services.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Brown, Shuler to advance, compete for chair of Swain commissioners \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/40977-brown-shuler-to-advance-compete-for-chair-of-swain-commissioners)\n","firstname":"Robert","lastname":"Brown","middlename":"Thorpe","suffix":null,"token":"3e84951f20137992"},"token":"Zll1q1viB2FQw08u"},{"candidatename":"Jeramy Shuler","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"**Update: Shuler won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary for Swain County Board of Commissioners Chairman, defeating Edward Larry Simonds 643 votes to 305, and advances to face Robert \"Robbie\" Brown (R) and Fred Crawford (unaffiliated) on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot [3].**\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Thomas Jeramy Shuler is a registered voter in Swain County, North Carolina, registered since 2000 (26 years), with party affiliation listed as Democratic [1].\n\nThe voter file shows Thomas Jeramy Shuler's year of birth as 1972; 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 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 Thomas Jeramy Shuler 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/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, official 2026 candidate filing list (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`) and March 3, 2026 primary precinct-level results (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)","firstname":"Thomas","lastname":"Shuler","middlename":"Jeramy","suffix":null,"token":"5c8ac7bef42c6c4d"},"token":"0bp7lIpwSJ2e6ShK"},{"candidatename":"Fred Crawford","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"UNA","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nFredrick Edward Crawford, known publicly as Fred Crawford, is an unaffiliated candidate for Swain County Commission Chairman in the 2026 election. As an unaffiliated candidate, Crawford was required to collect petition signatures from approximately 397 registered voters to qualify for the November ballot. He collected 550 signatures.\n\nCrawford emphasizes government transparency and bringing private-sector management experience to county leadership.\n\n## Career\nCrawford spent 25 years working for a public water and electric utility that served 60 counties in rural central Texas, where he managed the company's real estate division. After retiring, he moved to Swain County, North Carolina, and began attending county commission meetings and offering public comments.\n\nCrawford serves on the board of directors of Mainspring Conservation Trust. He is Swain County's delegate to the North Carolina Senior Tarheel Legislature. He teaches yoga and has been a leader in the Swain County Beekeepers Association.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Unaffiliated candidates test their mettle in WNC counties \u2013 Smoky Mountain News](https://smokymountainnews.com/news/news-latest/unaffiliated-candidates-test-their-mettle-in-wnc-counties/)\n- [2] [Some NC candidates reject parties. Here's how they get on your ballot \u2013 WFAE](https://www.wfae.org/politics/2026-04-23/some-nc-candidates-reject-parties-heres-how-they-get-on-your-ballot)\n","firstname":"Fredrick","lastname":"Crawford","middlename":"Edward","suffix":null,"token":"aa37fb9b7c738c57"},"token":"ckbNfkfKHgF0c5H0"}],"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":"Swain County Board Of Commissioners Chairman"}