Aug. 12. By Dave Vieser. The CMS District 1 school board election in Mecklenburg County, delayed for a year by the late arrival of census data, just got more interesting.

There are now five candidates.

District 1 covers Cornelius, Huntersville, Davidson and portions of North Charlotte. Filing closed at noon today.

Here’s the lineup as of 12:15 pm:

Rhonda Cheek — Cheek, a CMS board member for 13 years, announced in May that she would not run for reelection due to health issues. However, on Aug. 11, she filed to run, stating that surgery had successfully resolved most of her concerns.

Melissa Easley — Easley has taught science and social studies for 15 years, ten of which were in the CMS system. She has two students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School public school system.

William Fountain — Fountain, who lives on Deep Cove Ct., is a Cornelius resident. A retired teacher and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, he has spoken regularly at CMS board meetings.

Hamani Fisher — Fisher is pastor of Life Center International Church in Charlotte and a member of the African American Faith Alliance.

Ro Lawsin — Lawsin is a first-generation Filipino American whose parents immigrated from the Philippines. He grew up in Columbia, SC, attended and graduated from The Citadel Military College of SC.

The election is Tuesday Nov. 8. Polls will be open from 6:30 am until 7:30 pm.