ROPER — A lineup of local, judicial and state legislative candidates filled the evening Saturday at Mount Eprew Missionary Baptist Church, each making a case to a packed sanctuary built less on attacks and more on service, roots and an unmistakable love for Washington County.

The crowd spilled toward the back of the church, drawing not just rank-and-file voters but civic leaders from across the county, including Plymouth Mayor Crystal Davis, Plymouth Council Pro Tem Donsenia Teel and Interim Plymouth Town Manager Dorenda Wallace. The event doubled as a rallying point for the Washington County Democratic Party and a showcase for the people asking voters to trust them with the county courthouse, the sheriff's office and a seat in the North Carolina Senate.

"You got to go out and vote"

The night opened with Mary Cherry, secretary of the Washington County Democratic Party, whose brief remarks set an unmistakably hopeful tone. "There is a silver lining and we're going to make it through, but we have to do what? Get out and vote," Cherry told the crowd, drawing them into a call-and-response rhythm. "That stuff is gloomy on the outside, but on the inside there's going to be joy after while."

Cherry framed the coming election as an opportunity rather than a burden, urging the congregation to keep faith at the center of their efforts. "I don't care who is in the White House, if you only believe, believe in the man upstairs which is God, we're going to make it," she said. "We don't have to suffer. We don't have to stay another 12 months suffering." She pointed to November as the moment for change. "When we turn this issue around in November, we can get the Senate, we're going to get the House," Cherry said. "But you got to go out and vote."

Stokes Breaks Down the Ballot

Longtime Democratic Party activist Wesley Stokes followed with a plainspoken explainer on three constitutional amendments set to appear on the November ballot, walking the crowd through what he described as their real-world impact on Washington County.

On a proposed income tax cap, Stokes acknowledged the appeal but urged residents to look closer. "That sounds good to everybody in here, that they're going to reduce the taxes and give me a tax cut," he said. "The average household in North Carolina — and when I say average, we're talking households that make less than $200,000 — will only get about a hundred-dollar tax cut. If you are two hundred and fifty thousand or up, you will get almost a seven-thousand-dollar tax cut." His conclusion was direct: "This isn't the tax cut for you. This is the tax cut for the rich."

Stokes connected that measure to a second amendment on property taxes, which he said would shift authority away from county government. "The property tax amendment strips your county commissioners of local control and hands that power to the legislature," he explained, describing how reduced state revenue could eventually force local cuts. "They got to cut services," he said, pointing to the county's recreation program as a likely target. "That's where they're going to look."

Even so, Stokes' message carried a call to action rather than despair, urging the crowd to become informants for their neighbors. "So on these three amendments that are going to be on your ballot in November — educate," he said.

Sheriff Arlo Norman: "Accountability, Consistency, Compassion"

Sheriff Arlo Norman, who is unopposed in November but told the crowd he was still seeking their support, reflected on nearly 23 years with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. "I've worked for four different sheriffs," Norman said. "I would consider all of them very excellent people, but I will say every sheriff has their own way of doing things."

Norman described his vision for the office in plainly personal terms. "I want to see positive things for Washington County," he said. "I want to see a well-connected sheriff's office that is connected to the people, that understands that we work for people. We are here to protect and serve." Responding to a secondhand comment that he was "too nice to be the sheriff," Norman pushed back gently but firmly. "You don't have to be angry to have authority," he said. "All you need to do is know how to do your job and be serious about it and be consistent. So, as a sheriff, that is what I promise: it will be accountability, it will be consistency, it will be compassion."

Brian Keith Phelps: A Clerk Who Started at the Bottom

Clerk of Superior Court Brian Keith Phelps, who has served the office for 26 years, drew an easy laugh reminding the crowd of his roots. "I started out taking money for traffic tickets," he said. "Those of you who paid me, I won't call you out."

Phelps used a recent case to illustrate what he called his responsibility to protect residents' rights, describing a dispute over a natural gas company's attempt to run a pipeline through a landowner's property. When an attorney tried to bypass a required hearing, Phelps said he refused to let it slide. "I called the attorney," he recalled. "I said, you didn't follow statute. You've got to have a hearing before me, and you have to prove that you have the right to do this." The case was resolved through a proper hearing. "Again, ladies and gentlemen, I am fighting for you guys," Phelps said. "I have fought before and will continue to fight for you."

Judge Cole Phelps: Making History for Washington County

District Court Judge Cole Phelps brought some of the evening's most personal reflections, describing his appointment by Gov. Josh Stein as a milestone for the county. "It's the first time since 1968 that we've had a citizen from Washington County serving as a judge," Phelps said. "That has been generations of young people that have never seen the opportunity to be a judge. And so, through my appointment, that changes that perspective for young people."

Phelps, who serves five counties from the bench, said his appointment only runs through the end of the year, making the November election essential to continuing his work. He credited the community, including a former high school coach in attendance, with shaping his path. "This community has believed in me long before I was a judge," he said. "You believed in me as a young man... you believed in me when you elected me as a county commissioner, and you should believe in me one more time because I guarantee you that in my courtroom people are treated fair. They're treated with respect."

Judge Gina Rogers Parker: Experience, Fairness and Sound Judgment

Superior Court candidate Regina R. Parker, who has served 25 years as Washington County's district court judge, framed her candidacy around a record voters could verify for themselves. "I am the only one in my race who has judicial experience," Parker said. "I have applied the law, followed the law and used sound judgment each and every time I've been in that courtroom."

Parker described her approach to the bench as a blend of firmness and empathy. "There is nothing wrong with compassion and accountability; they can sit together," she said. She also pointed to eight years leading the district's administrative operations as chief district court judge, calling it proof of steady leadership, and to years of community work on youth programming as evidence of her investment beyond the courtroom. "I have been fair and I have shown integrity in my job for the last 25 years," she said, closing with an urgent appeal for early turnout. "Early voting starts October 15th through the 31st," Parker said. "I want you to be there on the first day if you can vote early, because it matters."

Roy Surrett: A State Senate Bid Built on Showing Up

Democratic State Senate candidate Roy Surrett, running in a sprawling District 2 that stretches across eight counties, opened with a joking apology for wearing shorts to a church service before pivoting to the heart of his pitch: showing up in person. "I've been in Martin County today... knocking doors out there today and talking to people and listening to their concerns," Surrett said. "I think your elected representatives should do that. They should be accountable to you, and they should listen to you and want to get to know you."

Surrett, a Carteret County resident and retired federal law enforcement officer, described the mileage he's logged criss-crossing the district. "I put about 7,000 miles on our vehicle just in the last month," he said, framing the effort as a matter of respect for constituents. "You deserve a state senator that works as hard as you do."

He argued that Eastern North Carolina has been shortchanged in state investment, citing disparities in life expectancy between the region and the rest of the state. "We are not getting our share of the pie out of Raleigh," Surrett said, pointing to a recent $65 million state expenditure to attract a golf tournament as evidence of misplaced priorities. "What would $65 million do for Eastern North Carolina?" he asked, floating ideas like teacher pay increases, downtown revitalization and support for farmers. "Without farmers we don't eat," he said. "It's as simple as that."

Surrett also shared a moment from a food-box distribution effort in Martin County the day before, describing a struggling family whose car ran out of gas as he handed them supplies, and said the encounter reinforced why he's running.

He closed by urging the room to get involved ahead of Election Day, inviting supporters to canvass with him the following day in Washington County. "I want to be your next North Carolina State Senator," Surrett said. "I do believe... government does good things for its people. We should be making life better and easier for our citizens."

Miriam Rollin: "I Am In It to Win"

Miriam Rollin, the Democratic candidate for NC House District 1, offered a candid self-introduction. "I am at heart a policy wonk, a lawyer," Rollin said. "I'm not a politician, and if I'm reading my notes a little too much... please forgive me." She told the crowd she has spent 40 years fighting for disadvantaged kids and families, including national work connecting law enforcement leaders to after-school and early-childhood investments.

Rollin explained she entered the race only in early August after the original Democratic candidate dropped out, refusing to let the seat go unchallenged. "I couldn't imagine Goodwin running unopposed, because that's not right," she said. "I remembered a famous quote: 'Be the change you want to see in the world.'"

She acknowledged the district's difficult political lean but framed her campaign as more than symbolic. "I am not just in this as an exercise in democracy," Rollin said. "I am in it to win."

Running through a list of contrasts on voting access, school funding, health care and utility costs, Rollin made her closing pitch simple. "Let's all be in it to win it this year."