November 2026 Municipal Election

At a glance

What: the mayor's seat and two council seats are on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot (derived from term years). The candidate list has not been retrieved. The data center decision is a campaign issue.
Election costs (June 22, 2026 special meeting): Homer Dearmin said final Forsyth County Board of Elections invoices of about $20,118 ran about $6,618 over the $13,500 budget because the county's switch to partisan municipal elections produced a primary as well as a general election. The council unanimously approved a $6,700 budget amendment (Ordinance 896) from fund balance.
Campaign link: the same meeting's 3-1 vote to withdraw opposition to Project Iron Spur Data Center came months before the election; the mayor and council members Mark Lane and Michael Woodcock hold seats on the Nov 3 ballot.
October 12 meeting: the mayor announced early voting starts October 15 and Election Day is November 3. Chris Parker introduced himself as a county commissioner and candidate; a speaker captioned "Matson" urged residents to vote and research candidates for school board, county commission and state office.
Caution: verify against official ballots.

June 22, 2026: the final Forsyth County election invoices for 2025 totaled $20,118.21: $15,411.48 for the March 2025 municipal primary and $4,706.73 for the November 2025 municipal election, the Town's first cycle under the new partisan election structure. The FY 2025-26 budget had $13,500; the overrun was about $6,618.21. Lane moved and Ring seconded Ordinance 896, amending the 2025-26 budget; passed unanimously.
July 13, 2026: the council moved its December 14 meeting to December 1 for the swearing-in of newly elected officials; see 2026 Council Meeting Schedule.
August 10, 2026: a mayoral candidate stated in public comment that she is running for mayor.

About 6 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-12 - Town Council	6

2026-10-12 - Town Council - Announcements of early voting (Oct 15) and Election Day (Nov 3); county commissioner and a speaker urge voters to research candidates.
2026-07-13 - Town Council - Minutes: December 14 meeting moved to December 1 for swearing-in (2026 Council Meeting Schedule).
2026-06-22 - Special Town Council Meeting - Budget amendment for election costs (Ordinance 896, unanimous); the data center vote that became a campaign issue.
2026-10-21 - Page created from public town materials and news coverage (retrieved 2026-10-21); no meeting transcript processed yet.
2026-08-10 - Town Council - The mayor said he is running for mayor and challenged all candidates to a forum or debate; a speaker asked for votes for mayor (from auto-captions).
2026-07-13 - Town Council - Public comment included a resident announcing a run for mayor in November (from auto-captions).
2026-10-27 - 2026-10-27 - Mayor's Town Hall Meeting: mayor said sign-placement complaints found no violation and urged voting.
2026-06-22 - Special Town Council Meeting - Minutes: Ordinance 896 election cost amendment (invoices $20,118.21 versus $13,500 budgeted) adopted unanimously.