Nancy Waldrop, a retired Buncombe County schoolteacher and small-business owner, announced June 19 that she collected enough signatures on a petition to officially enter the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners race as an unaffiliated candidate against Miranda DeBruhl, the Republican primary winner, for the District 3 seat.

DeBruhl defeated incumbent Commissioner David King, who is Waldrop’s husband, in the primary.

Noting her many years of volunteer service to the community, Waldrop said her entry into the race will provide voters “with a more moderate option” to DeBruhl, whom she described in a press release as a “conservative.”

Waldrop said she is running on a platform of what she refers to as the “4E’s: Economy, Education, Environment, and Excellence in Buncombe County.”

To be placed on the November ballot, Waldrop needed to secure at least 2,222 signatures from registered voters living in District 3 on a petition no later than June 27, 2014. With more than a week left to collect signatures, the Buncombe County Board of Elections confirmed that 3,279 valid signatures had been submitted, she noted.

Waldrop is a western North Carolina native with a master’s degree in education from Western Carolina University and 30 years of teaching experience. She also has been co-owner of a small coffee and gift shop, and as a realtor, co-operated her own real estate office.

As a volunteer, Waldrop has protected the interests of children in difficult situations as a Guardian Ad Litem and a new member of the Children’s Welfare League, and serves as a docent for the Asheville Art Museum. She has participated in efforts to bring a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) focus to Buncombe County middle schools, and was a member of the new STEM high school planning team. She also volunteered with the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce.

Waldrop lives with her husband David and their four dogs in Candler.