Happy Halloween!

The Apex Town Council race just got as interesting as the Apex Town Council race tends to get.

Five candidates are running for two seats on the five-member+Mayor Council, including incumbents Scott Lassiter and Bill Jensen.

Lassiter, a lifelong Apex resident and Wake County Schools administrator, claimed the endorsement of highly regarded, long-serving Wake County Commissioner Betty Lou Ward in a mailer he sent out to constituents this week. But while Ward may have had some nice things to say to Lassiter in the past, those things didn’t amount to an actual endorsement for reelection, as Lassiter has claimed.

Let’s be clear:

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Lassiter misused a polite conservation (sic) about supporting public education, teachers, and principals as a means of implying my endorsement of his re-election campaign,” Commissioner Ward said. “Voters should disregard this political ad and instead use their own judgement in voting for their Apex Town Council representatives.”

Ward is a Democrat, and Lassiter is a Republican (as are all of his challengers, excepting Bill Jensen), but there may be some reasons not to vote for Lassiter that go beyond party affiliation.

As Commissioner Ward advises, Apex voters would be best served to do their own research and to use their own judgement on Nov. 3. Remember folks, it can get weird out there!

Jane Porter is Wake County editor of the INDY, covering Raleigh and other communities across Wake County. She first joined the staff in 2013 and is a former INDY intern, staff writer, and editor-in-chief, first joining the staff in 2013.