Asheboro school board member eyes spot on city council

ASHEBORO — Phillip Cheek is a candidate again for an elected position in Asheboro, just with a different target.

Cheek, who has been on the Board of Education with Asheboro City Schools for nearly two decades, is running for a position on the Asheboro City Council.

“I still want to serve my city and try something else,” Cheek said. “Time to try something different.”

Many of the same voters who’ve elected Cheek to the school board will be casting ballots for city council.

Cheek lived within the school district but outside city limits until moving less than a mile away to Martin Luther King Drive. So now he would be eligible for either board.

Cheek, 58, works for the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, assigned to the county courthouse.

There are four seats open on the city council, with incumbents Clark Bell and Walker Moffitt not seeking reelection. There are 14 candidates, with early voting in a primary beginning next week to reduce the field to eight candidates.

The Asheboro school board is undergoing a mandated reduction in seats across a period of several years. That will take it from an 11-member board to seven.

Cheek, who’s one of four school board members with expiring terms this year, said the number of seats shouldn’t matter “as long as they’ve got the success of the students and the teachers” at the center of the focus.

Cheek said he sensed a good team concept within the school board. He pointed to the completion of Asheboro High School’s renovation along with other infrastructure projects as among accomplishments while he has been on the board.

He said he doesn’t have an agenda of specifics regarding his run for city council.

“I want to be available to serve the people,” Cheek said. “I’m not saying Asheboro is broken. Asheboro is in a good place. I want to join in and do my part.”