Today is the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. And there are more than a few Mecklenburg County residents hoping today's date is a lucky start to their election or re-election campaigns.
Yes, there have already been candidate forums, fundraising emails aplenty and yard signs are already sprouting like some kind of patriotic perennial. Still, the 2017 election season doesn’t officially kick off in Mecklenburg County until 12:00 p.m. today.
That's when the two week candidate filing period begins.
Honestly, it's not all that exciting to watch. Candidates turn in paperwork and pay the filing fee. But only after the filing period ends will we truly know just who is running for what.
Take the race for Charlotte mayor. We know Jennifer Roberts will run for re-election and face Vi Lyles, Joel Ford and possibly others in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, Kenny Smith is, so far, running unopposed. But that could change.
And this year's election will feature a number of seats with no incumbents. There will be at least four open seats on the Charlotte City Council, and three more on the Mecklenburg County school board.
And of course, there are other interesting races in the county. Take the race for Cornelius Board of Commissioners. The board is officially non-partisan but three candidates are associated with a party of sorts, they are well known critics of the I-77 toll lane project.