Martha Jaynes Hicks

Current office and 2026 campaign

Martha Jaynes Hicks, a Republican, served as an Avery County Commissioner starting in 2008, and had been serving as board chairwoman for about ten years as of a June 2023 profile ¹. She is not among the county's currently listed sitting commissioners ². Hicks ran for a return to the Avery County Board of Commissioners in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, one of eight Republicans seeking three nominations. She placed 5th with 798 votes -- behind the top three finishers, Dennis Aldridge (1,451), Robert Burleson (1,220), and Jason Grindstaff (1,103) -- and did not advance to the November 2026 general election ³.

Background and education

A lifelong Avery County resident, Hicks was born in Newland, one of three children of Lloyd Albert Jaynes and Elizabeth Townsend Jaynes. She graduated from Newland High School ¹.

Career

Hicks worked 17 years as a bank teller and loan officer at Avery County Bank in Newland; ten years for American Wicker in Foscoe as a designer and supervisor; ten years with Glen Raven; and two years with Lowes Foods ¹. She was elected to the Avery County Commission in 2008 and served as board chairwoman for roughly the decade before mid-2023 ¹.

Board service has included the Mayland Community College Board of Trustees, Avery Transportation Advisory Board, Avery County Council on Aging, and the Avery Veterans Monument Project Committee ¹.

Family

Married to Phillip Wade Hicks; the couple lives in the Heaton community of Avery County. Her niece and great-niece have also served in local government in Newland ¹.

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