There are now four candidates for the two open city council seats in Kinston.
Marc McKnight has entered the race, filing at the Lenoir County Board of Elections on Wednesday.
With the deadline of Friday at noon approaching, McKnight joins incumbent Robbie Swinson, Lennie Peterson and Adrien Meadows in hopes of attaining a seat in city council.
“We have a need for someone who has a history of Kinston, knows what it used to be and wants to get it to the level of neighboring cities,” McKnight said. “Goldsboro, Greenville and Jacksonville among others have left us economically.”
McKnight, 60, is a 1971 graduate of Kinston High School and received his degree in mass communications at Grahm Junior College in Boston four years later. McKnight soon attended the University of Massachusetts and had a 4.0 grade-point average in political science, but left in 1979 to come back to Kinston and take care of his mother.
McKnight went back to school and received three additional degrees. In 1987, he received a marketing and retailing degree from Lenoir Community College. McKnight had a double major at N.C. Wesleyan, getting his business administration degree in 2003 and one in computer information systems a year later.
“I wanted to be well-rounded and not be stuck in one area,” McKnight said.
McKnight is a retired administrative computer technician for Lenoir County Schools, after working from 1991 until 2006. Currently, he volunteers as a teacher for a senior computer class on Thursdays in the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library. McKnight shows seniors how to do their social security, Medicare, Medicaid, use the computer for social reasons and more.
McKnight has run for positions in Lenoir County three times, most recently for the school board in 2008. He didn’t win any race, but believes he would be a great candidate with his knowledge of the city and willingness to listen.
“I am going to be a voice for the people,” McKnight said. “There are a lot of frustrated people in Kinston who don’t feel they’re being heard. I’m going to vocalize for them, so we can get back to progressing and making this city a better place to live.”
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.