Gardenia Henley, who was prominent last year among critics of the Forsyth County elections director and his office, filed Friday to run in the Democratic Party primary for governor.
Dave Plyler, a Republican on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, filed for re-election to his second term representing District B.
Henley, 56, of Winston-Salem, became the third Democrat to enter the gubernatorial contest, with Gov. Bev Perdue not seeking re-election.
Others Democrats who have filed are Bill Faison of Orange County and Gary Dunn of Mecklenburg County. Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is the only Republican in the race.
Henley made allegations in 2011 that local and state elections officials, candidates for office and others were involved in election law violations. State elections officials found no violations here in their own investigation.
Henley said she supports responsible use of tax dollars, economic development, and ethical and transparent government.
She said she is not concerned that other Democrats mentioned as contenders are better known and could have more money.
"I am qualified to do the job," she said. "I have over 22 years of experience in managing various budgets and dealing with various systems of government."
Henley is a retired auditor from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Plyler, 73, said the main reason he is running again is because he wants to help get more jobs in the county — jobs like those at Caterpillar's axle-manufacturing plant, which came to Forsyth in part because of a package of economic incentives.
"We need a great deal more jobs like that," Plyler said.
Plyler was on the county board from 1994 to 2006, when he lost his at-large seat to Democrat Ted Kaplan. Plyler came back to the board as a District B commissioner in 2008.
The GOP field for the three available District B nominations is crowded: six candidates — three incumbents and three challengers — are in the running.
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