Kenneth Earnest, 58, resides on Pine Street in Dobson. He grew up in Surry County. His parents are Charles and Rachel Edmonds Earnest.

He graduated from Surry Central High School in 1976, Surry Community College in 1978 and from Appalachian State University in 1980 with a bachelors of arts and sciences with a double major in marketing and management.

Earnest is a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving tours in the Pacific and Indian oceans with an honorable discharge in 1986. After the Navy he worked for Roadway Express as a manager/supervisor until a liver transplant put him on disability in 1999.

He volunteers as a tutor with the G.E.D. program at Surry Community College. He has been volunteering since 2002. Earnest is the divorced father of two sons, Drew, who is a third-year student in engineering at the University of Virginia and Ben, a senior at Surry Central High School.

Here are Earnest’s responses to a series of questions posed to both mayoral candidates in Dobson to allow voters to learn about their positions in preparation for the election on Nov. 3.

Question: Why did you decide to run for office?

Answer: People need a choice. With me running this year, it does give people a choice. We need to make a few changes. We’ve been a little stagnant for too long.

Question: What would be your top three priorities of you are elected to office?

Answer: To try to bring small businesses into Dobson. We need to see what we can do to get a recreation facility and hopefully solve this town manager problem.

Question: Why do you think you deserve this office?

Answer: I lived in Dobson most of my life and I’m qualified to run and willing. I’ve managed people. I’ve run an office, so I have experience also.

Question: What will you do to increase community involvement?

Answer: We have to give them something to do. You have to have activities and bring things into town. The festivals seem to go over good. We need something for the younger people. The older people seem to have plenty to do. Our young people are just completely left out in Dobson

Question: Are you for or against the proposed curfew for teens 18 years old and younger?

Answer: I’m against a curfew for 18 and under. It’s martial law and we don’t have anyone running around shooting each other. What we have in place now is sufficient— 16 and under. That’s what’s in place now.