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Just hours before she was to deliver a speech to Sedalia residents, Veronica Lewis called the town hall to withdraw her bid for Town Council.

“She just said that she had a lot on her plate right now,” Town Clerk Cam Dungee said.

Lewis, a teacher at Southern Guilford High School, cited her desire to pursue National Board Certification.

“As a teacher in Guilford County, I believe that I have a responsibility to be among the best in my field, so I have decided to seek National Board Certification,” she wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

“I felt that I could not properly commit the time and service that my community deserves while working on this segment of my career. ”

Lewis’ departure shrinks the pool of candidates vying for three open seats to four -- two incumbents and two newcomers.

In the Monday meeting, the Town Council gave the candidates a chance to address residents.

Incumbent Ophelia Jones is seeking her third term on the council.

She told residents that if she’s re-elected, she will work on ordinance compliance, the encroachment of the city of Greensboro on the town, a thorough analysis of the recently adopted land-use plan and getting through the recession with few financial problems.

“These are things that I feel are the issues now,” Jones said.

Newcomer Keith Carter said that he’s unfamiliar about the town’s issues because he and his family just got there.

“I signed up from a community-service point of view,” Carter told residents. “I don’t really have an agenda; I’m doing this to become involved with the community.”

Carter, his wife and two daughters moved to Sedalia two years ago before living in Whitsett for a year.

Before that, Carter was a civil attorney and juvenile court judge in the Portland, Ore., area.

Shinita Wrenwick is a newcomer to the political arena but not to volunteering to better the town.

Wrenwick is on the town’s planning board and played an integral part in getting the land-use plan finished and adopted.

“I built my house here. I plan to retire here, so I have a vested interest in continuing the atmosphere,” she said.

Wrenwick’s goal, if elected, is to make the entire town a Wi-Fi hot spot.

This would promote more communication between neighbors, she said.

Incumbent Councilwoman Valerie Mack is seeking her second term.

For the past four years, Mack has served as the town’s finance officer.

“I’m not from Sedalia, but I have developed the same love and passion as those residents who grew up here,” she said.

If elected, Mack said, she wants to explore the possibility of bringing city water and sewer to residents who want it.

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373-7157, or tiffany.jones@news-record.com