There will be a lot of political races on the ballot in November but one of the most interesting will be the contest between Democratic Guilford County Commissioner Kay Cashion and Republican former Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson.

The two candidates are very familiar with one another because they served together for eight years on the Board of Commissioners between 2012 and 2020.

Perhaps that’s one reason this race is turning out to be so civil.

Branson lost his former District 4 seat by a slight margin and, after that loss, a redistricting of the county commissioners’ districts took him out of his former district.

Branson then decided to run in the at-large race.

When he was in the process of making that decision, Branson called Cashion to give her a heads up.

Cashion and Branson both won their primaries and are now going head to head in their quest for the board’s sole at-large seat.

Cashion said after a recent county commissioner work session that the two get along fine and the election battle is nothing personal.

“It’s just politics,” she said.

Branson also said he has nothing against Cashion – he just thinks his conservative stances make him a better county commissioner.

“She’s a good person,” Branson said, adding that he often disagrees with her political inclinations and initiatives.

While the two get along just fine, they each bring dramatically different perspectives to Guilford County government.

Cashion, a deal maker who is perhaps the most centrist of all of the commissioners on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, isn’t afraid to vote with the Republicans on the board but usually sides with the Democrats.

Branson, a staunch conservative who has never voted to raise property taxes, has been critical of some initiatives that Cashion has supported – such as the $1.7 billion school bond that was approved in May by county voters.

Branson, in fact, even took the rare step of filing an official complaint with the Guilford County Board of Elections arguing that Guilford County and Guilford County Schools used taxpayer-funded resources to illegally push for passage of the bond.

Ultimately, the county voters will decide in November which flavor of candidate they prefer.

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