Facebook, 107.3 FM and 1010 AM WSPC

Mario is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He and his wife have 3 children. 

Stanly County Journal, Locust Police Department recognizes 2023 Citizen of the Year

Mario currently works as a chaplain with the Locust Police Department. He served in the US Army for 16 years. 

Mario Miller's campaign for City Council Member in City of Locust is his first run for public office. 

As of June 5, 2025, Mario Miller did not have a website or any information online.

Public Services

Public Safety

Economy

Education

Housing & Urban Development

Transportation & Infrastructure

Mario Miller

As of August 3, 2024, Denise (De Dee) Nathan did not have a website and did not complete our questionnaire.

As of June 5, 2025, Denise (De Dee) Nathan did not have a website or any information online.

Denise (De Dee) Nathan

As of August 3, 2024, Jeff Claiborne did not have a website and did not complete our questionnaire.

As of June 5, 2025, Jeff Claiborne did not have a website or any information online.

Jeff Claiborne

City of Locust NC, Planning Board

Joseph serves on the Planning and Zoning Board for the City of Locust. 

As of August 3, 2024, Joseph Abbatiello did not have a website and did not complete our questionnaire.

As of June 5, 2025, Joseph Abbatiello did not have a website or any information online.

Joseph Abbatiello

The Stanly News & Press, ELECTION 2020: Baucom touts experience

Larry is from Monroe. He currently lives in Locust. He is married to his wife Kay, with whom he has children. 

Larry is retired. He previously worked as a regional sales manager at BP and managed his own business, Tarheel Auto Sales. 


American Legal Publishing, CITY OF LOCUST BOARD MEMBERS

NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, 11/03/2020 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE

Larry Baucom currently serves as a member of the Locust City Council. He also serves as Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Locust.

As of June 5, 2025, Larry Baucom did not have a website or any information online.

Said during his 2020 re-election campaign that the city "is in a growth mode, but we're not exploding as long as long as we are in a controlled environment."

- Said during his 2020 re-election campaign that the city "is in a growth mode, but we're not exploding as long as long as we are in a controlled environment."

Wants to "add more members of commerce and industry to the city along with residences."

- Wants the city to expand water services.
- Wants to "add more members of commerce and industry to the city along with residences."

Larry Baucom

Facebook

Mike lives in Locust. He previously served as a volunteer firefighter with the Locust Volunteer Fire Department. 

Mike previously worked police officer for the Locust Police Department and Stanly County Sheriff's Office.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS, 05/17/2022 OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - STANLY

Michael "Mike" Haigler currently serves as a member of the Locust City Council.  He ran for Stanly County Commissioner in District 1 in 2022, but he did not win. 

Supports being transparent and engaging with the community.

- Supports being transparent and engaging with the community.

As of June 5, 2025, Michael (Mike) Haigler did not have a website or any information online.

Michael (Mike) Haigler

ELECTION 2020: Efird seeks another term

Rusty was born in Albemarle, NC, but has lived in Locust for most of his life. He graduated from West Stanly High School.

LinkedIn

Rusty works for a commercial docking door company.

Rusty Efird currently serves on the Locust City Council. He was first elected in 2015, and he is serving his 2nd term. 

Supports community building through local reservations.

Supports the administration of the Locust Police Department.

As chief of police, responsible for overseeing department direction, policy and program development, budget planning, and day to day operations.

Supports city-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees.

Public or private events hosted in Locust in public areas (Town Center, Locust City Hall backyard, or city streets) must have a Special Event Permit.

Supports community policing and believes Locust officers have successfully patrolled neighborhoods, completed extensive training, and made connections with local businesses and residents.

As coordinator of the Locust Police Department’s “Shop With A Cop” program, he helped provide children in need with Christmas gifts and clothes.

Supports the construction of an Urgent Care Facility.

As assistant chief of police, O’Connor helped with department direction, policy development, budget planning, training, and overseeing investigations.

Supports engaging with local businesses and residents to enhance safety and community quality of life.

Supports community engagement and service.

Supports local law enforcement and makes himself available for officer support and prayer during difficult times.

Supports honoring local heroes, as demonstrated by the City of Locust's decision to name a street after Chief Steven Smith.

Has conducted outreach work with homeless individuals and veterans.

Supports public service and community engagement, as demonstrated by local police department participation in community events like the Oakboro 4th of July parade.

As of June 5, 2025, Rusty Efird’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Believes in strong leadership in police departments to enhance public safety.

Supports regular day and night patrols of Locust businesses and neighborhoods to enhance public safety.

Promises "24 hour, 365 day service and protection for the City of Locust, its citizens and visitors."

Supports local fire departments, such as the West Stanly Fire Department.

Believes in enforcing North Carolina laws and Locust city ordinances to maintain public safety.

Believes in traffic enforcement of local streets and highways.

Supports initiating Neighborhood Watch programs upon request.

Supports special residence checks or business patrols upon request.

Believes in transparency and community awareness by providing access to local police department criminal statistics and activity reports.

Supports transparency in law enforcement by making annual statistics and incident clearance reports available to the public.

Believes Locust is a safe city with efficient police response, saying "every criminal action...is responded to the same way."

Believes the police department's response to criminal activity is effective, citing reports of area growth and increased activity but "very positive data still regarding the level of criminal activity and how our department responds."

Believes in enhancing public safety through increased law enforcement efforts, resulting in 204 more arrest charges in 2023 than 2022 and a significant rise in traffic citations due to focused traffic enforcement.

Promises to enforce North Carolina statutes with a "firm but fair approach" to law violators.

Supports economic development, as evidenced by supporting the construction of a new express oil exchange service called Strickland Brothers Oil.

Supports economic development and job creation through new business ventures, such as the proposed Dunkin' Donuts restaurant.

As a City Council member, supported the development of the 1,000-acre Southport project, which is expected to create 20,000 jobs and generate $1.5 billion in annual economic impact.

As a City Council member, approved a project that aims to enhance economic development.

Supports providing $50,000 in life insurance and a 5% 401(k) contribution for city employees.

As a department chaplain, appointed by Chief Shew, Mario Miller is known for his encouraging conversations and dedication to sharing his faith.

Believes in supporting local law enforcement and recognizing their contributions to community safety and service.

Supports adding every registered golf cart to the owner’s automobile or homeowner insurance policy for liability purposes.

Believes in supporting local law enforcement and community service, as demonstrated by his family's involvement in police work and his own award as Officer of the Year for community engagement.

Supports veterans' benefits and job opportunities.

The candidate's website includes a section that says, "We hope you enjoy every minute of a well-earned retirement!"

Supports local law enforcement and appreciates their service and contributions to community safety.

Supports veterans and active military personnel.

Believes in quality education for law enforcement, having served as director of the Basic Law Enforcement Program at Stanly Community College.

Supports education and career development, as evidenced by his goal of obtaining a bachelor's and master's degree while serving as a police officer.

Supports providing $3,500 in annual childcare or education reimbursements.

Believes provisional licenses should be temporary and supports measures to ensure strict regulations and standards for young drivers.

Supports collecting school supplies for Locust Elementary School.

Supports community partnerships in education, as evidenced by thanking Locust Wal-Mart for donating school supplies.

Supports having school resource officers in local schools.

Supports youth engagement in sports and extracurricular activities.

As a school resource officer at Locust Elementary School, Tucker was promoted to Corporal and served for over two years.

Believes in fostering relationships with elementary students and mentoring high school students.

Supports student involvement in school decisions, as demonstrated by Locust Elementary School students choosing the name of their new K-9 officer, Rico, by one vote.

Believes in engaging students with local law enforcement through community activities, such as naming K-9 officers.

Supports animal visits to classrooms, believing they enhance student experiences and foster connections with nature and animals.

Believes in engaging with local students and families, and plans to continue visiting schools and attending community events.

Supports conditional rezoning to allow developers to build a new single-family residential subdivision of 184 units on 218 acres off N. Central and Meadow Creek Church Road.

Supports developing the 218-acre property off N. Central and Meadow Creek Church Road with a minimum lot size of 22,000 square feet and a minimum lot width of 90 feet.

Supports rezoning property at 821 N. Central Ave. from Highway Commercial to Highway Commercial Conditioning to build a 3-unit multi-family townhome project.

Supports rezoning for development projects, as evidenced by supporting the rezoning of 2.5 acres of land from agricultural to residential to allow for the construction of single-family homes.

Supports rezoning requests that align with community development goals.

Supports rezoning property off James Ave. beside KFC from Highway Commercial (HC) to Highway Commercial Conditional (HC-C) to allow for the construction of a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR).

Supports conditional rezoning to facilitate urban development.

Supports the development of new residential subdivisions, as evidenced by supporting a developer's request to rezone a property at 105 Bell Ave. from Neighborhood Residential to Center City-Conditional in order to build 86 townhome units.

Supports rezoning property at James Avenue and Browns Hill Rd. from Highway Commercial to Highway Commercial-Conditional to develop a shopping plaza with retail, restaurants, and office space.

Supports rezoning requests to facilitate urban development.

Supports conditional use zoning to allow specific types of businesses, such as Furniture & Home Furnishings, while regulating others.

Supports conditional rezoning for specific uses, as demonstrated by supporting the rezoning of 607 N Central Ave from Highway Commercial to Highway Commercial-Conditional to allow for automobile repair.

Supports community involvement in housing decisions, as evidenced by the public hearing and City Council vote on a rezoning request.

Supports reverting the property use to permitted uses by right as outlined in Section 2.5 Use Table of the City of Locust Land Development Ordinances.

Supports housing development, as evidenced by the approval of a revised site plan for 114 units with a minimum lot width of 90 feet.

Supports the Fleet Resource Division's full-service maintenance and repairs for vehicles and equipment, ensuring high-quality service and safety standards.

Supports system development fees, which are one-time fees for new developments and properties transitioning from septic systems to the City’s system, to help cover costs of increasing system capacity for projected growth.

Aims to provide high-quality service for the effective and timely repair of City of Locust vehicles and equipment to reduce downtime and increase operational performance of all public works divisions.

Supports providing exceptional solid waste services to protect the environment and improve community quality of life.

Aims to ensure safe and efficient movement of pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists by maintaining the street network, sidewalks, traffic control devices, and storm drainage facilities.

Supports the Transportation Resources Division's role in planning, constructing, inspecting, and maintaining city streets.

Believes the street network is crucial for transportation and infrastructure, with maintenance divided among private, state, and local groups.

Supports right-of-way mowing and cutting back overgrowth.

Supports having Transportation Resources staff on call 24/7 to respond to hazards that may threaten travelers and visitors.

Supports performing severe weather cleanup, including winter weather events and wind, rain, and lightning damage.

Supports maintaining system development fees to protect current customers from financial burdens of expanding system capacity.

Supports addressing questions and comments during the public comment process for developing recommendations on sewer system development fees.

Plans to install a central well to provide water for community members and travelers.

Believes in improving transportation infrastructure, as evidenced by the Meadow Creek Village Drive Sewer Improvement project.

Believes that the city's proximity to I-485, Hwy 24/27, Hwy 601, and Hwy 200 provides residents with easy access to nearby airports, motor speedways, and shopping malls.

Rusty Efird

- City council members work together to set and implement city policy. 
- The city council is tasked with ensuring the health, comfort, and safety of residents of the city.
- City council members work with the mayor to govern city departments, such as the police department, fire department, transportation department, and parks and recreation department. 
- City council members represent either the whole city or residents of a specific district. 