Cothran had something West didn’t, however: an "R" beside his name on the ballot. GOP candidates swept every contested race in Haywood County on Tuesday.

Haywood is the only county left in North Carolina where voters still chose the tax collector. And there’s a lot on the line.

Haywood's Tax Collector is responsible for collecting about $40 million annually in property taxes. The tax dollars fund county operations, from the jail and EMS to locally-paid teachers and the animal shelter.

County Commissioner Chairman Kevin Ensley declined to comment when asked whether he and other commissioners were concerned about Cothran’s win. Ensley did say, however, that commissioners are extremely vested in ensuring that the tax collection rate doesn’t dip.

Cothran will obviously have a learning curve, and the county will have to come up with a game plan to help Cothran learn how to do the job so the county budget doesn’t suffer, Ensley said.

When Cothran takes office, he will become the boss of a staff who all know more about the job than he does. From the basics of collections to the computer system to financial procedures, someone will have to teach Cothran how to do the job he was elected for.

In the meantime, Cothran is still a senior in college. In an interview before the election, he said he would continue taking college classes at night after assuming his new position. Cothran is a double major in accounting and political science at UNC-Asheville, and is active in the campus Young Republicans.

The local GOP hadn’t recruited a candidate to run against West and was surprised when Cothran came out of the woodwork. Local GOP leaders and elected officials had never met nor heard of Cothran before he and two of his friends showed up at the election office on the opening day of candidate filing last December.

One of those friends initially signed up to run for county commissioner, but later withdrew his name.

In all 99 other counties, the tax collector is hired rather than elected to remove politics from the equation, a change that has gradually been adopted across the state. Haywood is the lone county that hasn't yet done so.

Haywood County leaders have expressed interest in doing away with an elected tax collector, but it would require a bill in the state legislature — and thus support from Haywood’s representatives in the General Assembly.

Ensley said he broached the idea two years ago in a sit-down meeting between local government leaders and Haywood’s legislative delegation. However, it got a lukewarm reception, Ensley said.

“We asked if they would consider doing that and they didn’t act on it,” Ensley said.

Now, it is too late for another four years.

West had been the assistant director of county property appraisals prior to running for and winning tax collector four years ago.

Tax Collector Vote Totals

• Challenger Sebastian Cothran, R: 13,826

• Tax Collector Greg West, D: 12,489