FAITH — With a little hard work and 28 votes, Jayne Lingle is on track to be the next member of the Faith Board of Aldermen.

After the town of Faith only had four candidates file for office before the July deadline, the Rowan County Board of Elections agreed to let the top write-in candidate fill the final spot rather than extend the filing period. In addition to Lingle, write-in candidates who received more than five votes in the election included Matt Lyerly, an incumbent, and Laura Evans.

In her first bid for elected office, Lingle says she made the best of a one-day, Election Day campaign to get 28 votes. Lyerly received 22 votes. Evans received nine.

Old fashioned, shoe leather campaign tactics were the keys to Lingle’s campaign. She stood outside of the Faith American Legion Building, handed out a small card with information about her candidacy and talked to voters about what she had to offer. She wants to help bring new, small businesses to town. Her flyer touts management experience, saying she works well with others and that she’s been supportive of Faith Academy.

“I love this town,” she said. “I just feel like sometimes you have to step up and help your area.”

Lingle and her Faith native husband, Doug, moved back to the area in 2009 to take care of his father. They met in the Washington, D.C., area, where Lingle has lived most of her life. There, she was a retail buyer for several small businesses as well as a service manager for service stations.

Incumbent Randall Barger finished first among all Faith candidates, which would traditionally give him a good shot at being mayor. Similar to Salisbury’s outgoing system, Faith chooses its mayor from aldermen candidates. Barger said he was surprised at his first-place finish and that he’d accept the mayor position if other board members vote for him.

Mostly, Barger says, the first-place finish shows Faith residents have confidence in his work as a town board member and that he’s community oriented.

“It’s important to me that we make Faith a good place to live,” he said.

Current Mayor C.J. Moody finished a close second to Barger, with 69 votes. Gary Gardner was third, with 62 votes. Brian G. Campbell was fourth, with 57 votes. Candidates elected to the Faith Board of Aldermen receive two-year terms.