{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMartha 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].\n\n## Background and education\nA 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].\n\n## Career\nHicks 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].\n\nBoard 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].\n\n## Family\nMarried 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].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Martha Hicks: Avery Legend, Patriot and County Commission Chairwoman \u2014 High Country Press](https://www.hcpress.com/avery/martha-hicks-avery-legend-patriot-and-county-commission-chairwoman.html) (published 2023-06-07)\n\n[2] [Commissioner Profiles \u2014 Avery County, NC](https://www.averycountync.gov/residents/our_government/commissionerprofiles.php) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21 (lists Tim Phillips, Dennis Aldridge, Wood Hall Young Jr., Robert Burleson, and Junior Benfield as the current board; Hicks is not listed)\n\n[3] [North Carolina State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 primary certified results, Avery County](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/ENRS/2026_03_03/results_precinct_sort/AVERY_PRECINCT_SORT.txt) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","county":"avery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Avery County Board Of Commissioners"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Martha","fullname":"Martha Jaynes Hicks","lastname":"Hicks","middlename":"Jaynes","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Avery County Board Of Commissioners","county":"avery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"avery","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"avery","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission","contest_title":"Avery County Board Of Commissioners","county":"avery","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"avery","office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission","office_title":"County Commissioner","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"cd8e844b99a9c57c"}