Results for Kannapolis City Council

• Richard Anderson: 48 percent
• David Baucom: 32 percent
• Ken Geathers: 44 percent
• Roger Haas: 37 percent
• Jim Harkins: 18 percent
• John Williams: 19 percent

Note: Totals are combined results from Cabarrus and Rowan counties.

All totals taken from the county board of elections. All vote totals are unofficial until absentee ballots are counted Wednesday.

Early returns for Kannapolis

Kannapolis sits in both Cabarrus and Rowan counties. As such, the results are split between two counties.

Here are the returns from the Rowan side of Kannapolis:

Richard Anderson . . . . . . . . 2 or 16.67 percent
David A. Baucom . . . . . . . . 4 or 33.33 percent
Kenneth B. Geathers . . . . . . . 3 or 25.00 percent
Roger Haas . . . . . . . . . . 3 or 25.00 percent
Jim Harkins. . . . . . . . . . 0
John K. Williams . . . . . . . . 0

David Baucom is leading on the Rowan County side, while Ken Geathers is leading the pack in Cabarrus County. Richard Anderson is in the top three in Cabarrus, while he is trailing in Rowan.

Early voting returns for local races

Here are the early returns from the Kannapolis City Council race:
Richard Anderson . . . . . . . . 33 or 21.57 percent
David A. Baucom . . . . . . . . 20 or 13.07 percent
Kenneth B. Geathers . . . . . . . 43 or 28.10 percent
Roger Haas . . . . . . . . . . 29 or 18.95 percent
Jim Harkins. . . . . . . . . . 8 or 5.23 percent
John K. Williams . . . . . . . . 20 or 13.07 percent
NOTE: These are Cabarrus County returns.

Early returns from Rowan County:
China Grove Mayor
Don Bringle. . . . . . . . . . 22 or 88.00 percent
Allen Welter . . . . . . . . . 3 or 12.00 percent

China Grove Town Council
Jimmie Higgins. . . . . . . . . 6 or 12.50 percent
Roger Hosey. . . . . . . . . . 5 or 10.42 percent
William L. Jordan. . . . . . . . 1 or 2.08 percent
John G. Miller. . . . . . . . . 1 or 2.08 percent
Ronald A. Overcash . . . . . . . 11 or 22.92 percent
Charles Seaford . . . . . . . . 3 or 6.25 percent
Jim Whitley. . . . . . . . . . 2 or 4.17 percent
Lee Withers. . . . . . . . . . 19 or 39.58 percent

Landis Board of Aldermen
William (Will) P. Beaver . . . . . 1 or 3.03 percent
Ernest Dean Beck . . . . . . . . 8 or 24.24 percent
Tony B. Corriher . . . . . . . . 3 or 9.09 percent
H. A. (Tony) Hilton . . . . . . . 14 or 42.42 percent
C. J. Nickelson . . . . . . . . 1 or 3.03 percent
George Lee Pless . . . . . . . . 2 or 6.06 percent
Roger D. Safrit . . . . . . . . 4 or 12.12 percent

Kannapolis candidates focused on research campus

Preparations for the North Carolina Research Campus will color every issue that Kannapolis, once a thriving textile town, will face in the coming years.

Water resources, infrastructure and becoming an inviting community to newcomers are three issues that will have immediate impact.

Jim Harkins, who is running for City Council, moved to Kannapolis in the 1980s from Oklahoma. He said when he first moved here, he noticed the rivalry between Kannapolis and Concord could be fierce. He said that rivalry could hurt the perception of Kannapolis to outsiders.

“I believe in a healthy rivalry, but I don’t believe rivalry should be in government,” Harkins said. “I think we need to quit trying to compete with Concord.”

With the research campus coming, new people will be coming to Kannapolis to work and the city has to be welcoming.

Harkins said he thinks the churches in town will have to take a big role as the welcoming committee.

City Council candidate David Baucom said setting aside land for spin-off companies from the research campus is important.

“We need to have adequate land to support the businesses that will come here,” Baucom said, “ so they can provide new jobs in Kannapolis.”

Baucom, who is on the Kannapolis Planning and Zoning Commission, also said it should be up to the business community to welcome and cater to new people who have moved to the area.

“If you are willing to work with new faces and do business with them, then your business will grow,” he said.

Incumbent Roger Haas said at a candidate forum on Oct. 5 that he would like to see a program involving business and community groups that would welcome newcomers to Kannapolis - those who will work at the research campus.

“We have more in common than we think,” Haas said.

Baucom said he is comfortable with how city leaders handled the interbasin water transfer issue.

“I think they addressed it in a timely manner,” Baucom said.

Longtime resident and council member Richard Anderson said at a candidate forum that the water transfer was critical to Kannapolis’ future.

“It is extremely expensive to purchase treated water,” Anderson said. “We should only purchase water as a last resort.”

Candidates John K. Williams said, if elected, he would push for more water towers to be built in the city to collect and hold water to help shore up the city’s water supply.

He also said Kannapolis needs to focus more on fighting illegal immigration.

“There is more activity on this issue in Salisbury and Charlotte and Gaston County, but I don’t hear too much coming from Kannapolis,” Williams said. “This is a big concern for the community and I think it is being ignored.”

Roads are also a challenge for Kannapolis to overcome in the next five years. Mooresville Road needs to be widened and the city will be putting up part of the construction cost. The big intersection in the city - Dale Earnhardt and Cannon boulevards - is in need of widening and renovation.

Incumbent Ken Geathers said at the forum that Interstate 85 is the greatest transportation challenge facing the city. He said widening the interstate would be critical to the success of the campus.
-Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: John K. Williams- Democrat

John K. Williams, 42, is a newcomer to Kannapolis, having lived in the city since February, after moving from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Williams is a mortgage broker with Sunny Mortgage, but his passion is in nonprofit work.

“I want to see that community needs are met,” Williams said. “People are always going to need help.”

Williams is helping to set up a new nonprofit organization in Charlotte, Compassion Gifts International, that would offer a food bank, court advocates for children and assistance for the homeless.

With his experience in nonprofits, Williams wants to bring that passion to the city council.

“Kannapolis is going through a revival,” Williams said. “And with all this newness that is coming, I want to make sure that the people who helped build Kannapolis are taken care of.”

He said one of his goals is to look out for homeowner’s rights, especially on the western side of the city.

“Homeowners are concerned about businesses moving into that area,” Williams said.

His big goal: Establish a youth center on the east end of Kannapolis.

“The center would draw youth from Kannapolis and southern Rowan County,” Williams said. “The idea is to teach children values through character-building programs.”

Williams was a catcher for the now-defunct minor league baseball team, the Miami Miracles, from 1987 to 1989. Williams and his wife, Hannah, have four children.
-Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: Jim Harkins- Republican

Jim Harkins knows how to campaign. He ran unsuccessfully for the council in the last municipal election. He said he thought he should try again.

“I’m trying to get involved with the city’s decision-making,” Harkins, 54, said.

Owner and operator of the Cash-N-Check on Cannon Boulevard for 19 years, Harkins moved to Kannapolis from Oklahoma City in 1998.

His mother grew up in in Kannapolis and always talked about what a nice place it was to live in.

“There are a lot of things going in Kannapolis right now,” Harkins said. “We need to make sure to keep the water supply going.”

Harkins has served as a lay minister for seven years at Midway United Methodist Church. He said friends and church members talked him into running again.

He runs his check-cashing business with his two dogs — Labradoodles named Thelma Lou and Roscoe, named for characters from “The Andy Griffith Show.”

Harkins would like to see the city set aside some land for a dog park.

“With the research campus coming, I’d like to see a little bit of land set aside and fenced in for a dog park.”
-Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: Roger Haas- Republican

Roger Haas sees the future coming to Kannapolis.

“Kannapolis is at a crossroads and I have been involved with a lot of that,” said Haas, on why he filed for reelection.

He said the North Carolina Research Campus will transform the town and with the decisions that have already been made concerning the campus, Haas said he wants to continue to be a part of that.

“Experience will play a factor in this,” Haas, 58, said.

Haas served on City Council from 1997-2001, then was appointed in 2006 to fill a vacant seat left when Bob Misenheimer was elected mayor. Haas is the founder of Adventures in Motorsports, a racing tourism company in Kannapolis.
On the council, he has been an advocate for tourism and economic development — pushing for more amenities in Village Park and Kannapolis’ support for the NASCAR All-Star Race in Charlotte.

When he is not booking race track tours, Haas reads extensively and babysits his grandchildren.-Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: Ken Geathers- Unaffiliated

Ken Geathers was elected to the first City Council when Kannapolis incorporated in 1984 and has been on City Council ever since.

He, like fellow council member Richard Anderson, has seen the decline of the textile industry from the inside. Geathers worked for 34 years in human resources at Pillowtex before it went bankrupt in 2003. Now, he is looking toward the future with the North Carolina Research Campus.

“I want to use my experience to help make Kannapolis a livable community,” Geathers said. “The whole country is moving from manufacturing to research.”

Geathers is now a substance abuse counselor at the Bill Hefner V.A. Hospital in Salisbury. Geathers is going back to school to get his license in substance abuse counseling, by taking advantage of the educational opportunities in the area. He said he wants others to take advantage of the same opportunities so they can get
jobs at the research campus.

“If folks get a chance to come back to Kannapolis, they have to get trained and we have to have the jobs here waiting for them,” Geathers said.
Geather’s civic involvement is extensive: He is a Paul Harris Fellow and past president of the Kannapolis Rotary Club. He is on the board of trustees of the Kannapolis YMCA and president of the John R. Mott Y Service Club. Geathers attends First Baptist Church in Kannapolis and is a past chairman of the Cabarrus chapter of the American Red Cross.

Geathers said he reads a lot — from fantasy fiction to mysteries to academic books about addiction. -Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: David A. Baucom- Republican

David Baucom is running for one of the three seats open on City Council. He said he wants to represent the younger generation of Kannapolis residents.
“The board needs the voice of Generation X-ers,” Baucom, 33, said. “I think with the research campus coming, the age of the population is going to change. I want to represent the newness that is going to come to the area.”
The financial planner and owner of Baucom Wealth Management already serves on the Kannapolis Planning and Zoning Commission. This is his first time running for public office.
Baucom attends Kannapolis Church of God and likes to play racquetball and run.
He said he runs through downtown Kannapolis a lot.
“There have been a lot of changes that has come to downtown,” Baucom said. “A lot of new people are going to come here. We need to be ready for them.”
-Ben McNeely

Kannapolis City Council: Richard Anderson- Democrat

Richard Anderson knows Kannapolis. He grew up in the Centerview neighborhood, has served as the town’s mayor, served on the City Council on and off since 1991 and his house is right across the street from A.L. Brown High School.

He first got interested in politics when he father took him to Cabarrus County Democrat Party meetings when he was 16 years old.

“I’ve always been interested in politics, but I ran for council when the city got into a squabble over sidewalks,” Anderson said.

Anderson has been on the council through some of Kannapolis’ most troubling and promising times: The decline of Fieldcrest-Cannon Mills and the textile industry in the region, the Pillowtex buyout and bankruptcy in 2003 and the announcement of the North Carolina Research Campus in 2005.

He wasn’t going to run again because of health problems in the past two years.
“I said I wasn’t going to run again because of my health problems,” Anderson said. “But both my wife and I are on the road to recovery and with the research campus coming, with my experience and knowledge of Kannapolis, hopefully I can assist in that.”

He said Kannapolis is going through a “transformation.” “I still have plenty of energy,” Anderson said. “With what is coming, I think continuity on the board is important.”
-Ben McNeely

Polling Places: Cabarrus

Precinct: 01-02
Flowe Store Volunteer Fire Station
8623 Flowes Store Rd
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 01-04
Harrisburg Fire Station #2
9045 Rocky River Rd
Harrisburg , NC 28075

Precinct: 01-06
Harrisburg Library
201 Sims Pkwy
Harrisburg , NC 28075

Precinct: 01-07
Harrisburg Elementary School
3900 Stallings Rd
Harrisburg , NC 28075

Precinct: 01-08
Rocky River Elementary School
5454 Rocky River Rd
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 01-09
Harrisburg Lions Club
507 Patricia Ave
Harrisburg , NC 28075

Precinct: 01-10
Harrisburg Town Hall
4100 Main St
Harrisburg , NC 28075

Precinct: 02-01
Poplar Grove Baptist Church
3476 Poplar Tent Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-02
Furr Elementary School
2725 Clover Rd Nw
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-03
Jay M Robinson High School
300 Pitts School Rd Sw
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-05
Weddington Hills Elementary School
4401 Weddington Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-06
Winecoff Elementary School
375 Winecoff School Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-07
Cannon School
5801 Poplar Tent Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-08
New Odell Elementary School
1215 Moss Farm Rd Nw
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 02-09
Cox Mill Elementary School
1450 Cox Mill Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 03-00
Gilwood Presbyterian Church
2993 Odell School Rd
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 04-01
Royal Oaks Elementary School
608 Dakota St
Kannapolis , NC 28083

Precinct: 04-02
Second Presbyterian Church
1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd
Kannapolis , NC 28083

Precinct: 04-03
New Hope Lutheran Church
1615 Brantley Rd
Kannapolis , NC 28083

Precinct: 04-04
Trinity United Methodist Church
416 E 1st St
Kannapolis , NC 28083

Precinct: 04-05
Murdock Senior Center
115 Ymca Dr
Kannapolis , NC 28081

Precinct: 04-06
Midway Methodist Church
708 S Main St
Kannapolis , NC 28081

Precinct: 04-07
Cabarrus Shrine Club
1460 Oakwood Ave
Kannapolis , NC 28081

Precinct: 04-08
Northwest High School
5130 Northwest Cabarrus Dr
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 04-09
Covenant Presbyterian Church
5835 Charlie Walker Rd
Kannapolis , NC 28081

Precinct: 04-10
Kannapolis Middle School
1445 Oakwood Ave
Kannapolis , NC 28081

Precinct: 05-00
Concord Middle School
1500 Gold Rush Dr
Concord , NC 28025


Precinct: 06-00
Rimer Fire Station
4306 Rimer Rd
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 07-00
Northeast Fire Station
1500 Lentz Harness Shop Rd N
Mt Pleasant , NC 28124

Precinct: 08-00
Mt Pleasant High School
700 Walker Rd
Mt Pleasant , NC 28124

Precinct: 09-00
Georgeville Fire Station
6916 Nc Hwy 200 S
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 10-00
New Bethel Elementary School
2425 Midland Rd
Midland , NC 28107

Precinct: 11-01
Kerr Memorial Baptist Church
25 Nc Hwy 49 S
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 11-02
A T Allen Elementary School
3801 Us Hwy 601 S
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-01
Coltrane-webb Elementary School
61 Spring St Nw
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-02
Ann St Methodist Church
335 Ann St Nw
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-03
All Saints Episcopal Church
525 Lake Concord Rd
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-04
Concord High School
481 Burrage Rd Ne
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-05
Senior Citizens Center
331 Corban Ave Se
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-06
American Legion Post #51
165 Wilshire Dr Sw
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-07
First Baptist Church - Mp Building
57 Chestnut St Sw
Concord , NC 28025

Precinct: 12-08
Hartsell Recreation Center
60 Hartsell School Rd Nw
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 12-09
Wolf Meadow Elementary School
150 Wolf Meadow Dr
Concord , NC 28027

Precinct: 12-10
St James Catholic Church
139 Manor Ave Sw
Concord , NC 28025