Rep. Doug Yongue, a Laurinburg democrat, will face Republican opposition for his N.C. House District 46 seat.

G.L. Pridgen filed Friday at the Robeson County Board of Elections office in Lumberton to run against the eight-term legislator.

"I am a conservative Republican ...,’’ Pridgen said. "I believe conservatism is a must, not an option, for our elected officials. I believe every law abiding citizen has the right to own a gun to protect his family, his home and himself. In Raleigh, we need a new direction, the right direction, with new ideas to create jobs and lower taxes."

A native of Robeson County, Pridgen graduated from Littlefield High School and attended classes at Robeson Community College. He started his career with Southern Bell Telephone Company and resided in Lumberton until he was drafted into the U.S Army. During his two years in the Army, he served as a communication specialist. He did a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.

Pridgen returned to his job with Southern Bell, later BellSouth Telecommunications, where he worked until retirement. He started his own communications business in 1994 and ran that until 2009, when he started working with the Information Systems Department at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.

Pridgen and his wife, Wendy, have four children and six grandchildren.

The District 46 seat represents parts of Scotland, Robeson and Hoke counties.

School Board

A retired educator is challenging incumbent school board members for one of the two Stewartsville seats that are up this year.

Rodney Hassler, who spent three decades in the Scotland County school system, first as a teacher then as an administrator, filed on Friday to run for one of two Stewartsville seats on the Scotland County Board of Education. Those seats are currently filled by Vice-Chairman Mary Evans or Paul Rush. Evans has filed for reelection while Rush has yet to file.

"Throughout my thirty-year tenure with Scotland County Schools, I recognized the tremendous potential of our local youth and the enduring community commitment to fund and support our schools," Hassler said. "I want to bring my experience as a practicing educator to our school board in order to better guarantee students get the most benefit from the funding and support intended for them."

Hassler lives at 905 East Scotsdale Road in Laurinburg. He retired last year as principal of Scotland High School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Chairman Jimmy Bennett and Calvin Newton have both filed to run for their at-large seats on the school board.

District Judge

District Court Judge Regina Joe has filed for reelection in Hoke County.

"My platform has been and will continue to be dedication, equality and fairness," Joe said. "Justice should always be blind to race, creed and sex. I am dedicated to equally applying the law to those who come before me in a fair and just manner. Thank you for your trust and confidence in me."

The District 16A judge began her career in criminal justice as the assistance distict attorney in Pitt County in 1989 before moving to Hoke county in 1991, where she served as assistant district attorney for this district.

Joe then served as the Employment Security Commission appeals referee from 1995 to 1998. She then became assistant public defender in 1998 and chief public defender for the district in 2005. She has been a district court judge since Jan. 1, 2007.

Joe lived is Raeford with her husband, State Trooper Stevie Joe. They have a six-year-old son named Isaiah.

Local filing

The 2010 filing period has been slow, according to Board of Elections Director Dell Parker.

She said several incumbents have yet to file – school board member Paul Rush and county commissioners Betty Blue Gholston and Guy McCook – while few challengers have filed for these spots.

"I would encourage anyone who is interested in running to file and not be afraid," Parker said.

She said a number of people have called in to ask questions about filing, but Parker was uncertain if any of them were seriously seeking an office.

Meanwhile, voter registration has picked up recently, Parker said.

Eleven voters registered on Friday, which Parker said was a good number for one day in Scotland County. There are 22,047 registered voters as of Monday afternoon, with 14,008 registered Democrats, 3,750 registered Republicans and 4,280 unaffiliated registered voters.

State and Federal filings

Sen. Richard Burr is facing a growing field of primary challengers as two Republicans, Eddie Burks of Asheboro and Brad Jones of Hendersonville, are slated to run against the North Carolina senator in May. Three Democrats, Marcus W. Williams of Lumberton, Ken Lewis of Chapel Hill and Cal Cunningham, have also filed as has Libertarian candidate Michael Butler of Oak Ridge.

Rep. Larry Kissell will also face a primary challenge for his Eighth District Congressional seat as Nancy Shakir of Fayetteville has filed against the first-term legislator. Republican Tim D'Annunzio and Libertarian Thomas Hill have also filed to seek the House seat.

Lumberton Rep. Mike McIntyre is being challenged for his Seventh District seat by Wilmington Republican Will Breazeale.

N.C. Court of Appeals judges Bob Hunter and Barbara Jackson have both filed to run for the N.C. Supreme Court seat currently held by Associate Justice Ed Brady.

N.C Court of Appeals Judge Rick Elmore and Orange County attorney Leto Copeley have both filed to run for Elmore's seat.

Wake County District Court Judge Jane P. Gray has filed for the seat of Court of Appeals Judge Ann Marie Calabria. Calabria has said she will not seek reelection.

Court of Appeals judges Sanford Steelman and Martha Geer have both filed for reelection.

The Robesonian contributed to this story