This election year, LincolnHerald.com is offering candidates a unique chance to speak directly to you. We believe it's important for voters to hear firsthand from each candidate about their vision, experience and why they are the best choice for the role.

In this article below, you'll find answers to five key questions that reveals this candidate’s platform and priorities. We encourage you to read their responses to gain a deeper understanding of their plans and perspectives, helping you make an informed choice when you head to the polls.

1. What key issues are you prioritizing, and what steps are you taking to address them?
2. How does your background, values, education, and experience prepare you to represent the community effectively?
3. What makes you the best candidate for this position and how do you differentiate yourself from your opponents?
4. What long-term goals do you hope to achieve if elected to office?
5. What sets you apart from other candidates, and why should voters choose you to represent them?

The following is the candidate's response, written in her own words:

1.       What key issues are you prioritizing, and what steps are you taking to address them?

As a judicial candidate the key issues I am prioritizing are justice and integrity.  I agree with a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  I believe to achieve justice we must have judges who will give parties the opportunity to be heard and make decisions or render verdicts based upon the evidence and the law.  I strongly believe that justice should not be determined by ethnicity, gender, lifestyle, or even political party and that requires integrity.  As a current District Court Judge I am doing that now by listening to people, being fair and equitable.  My beliefs are based on Isaiah 1:17 and with every case I endeavor to do right and seek justice.

2.       How does your background, values, education, and experience prepare you to represent the community effectively.

I am a proud resident of Kings Mountain and the first Kings Mountain resident to serve as a District Court Judge in our judicial district. I was raised in Kings Mountain by parents who stressed education and service. After graduating from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in English Literature I graduated from the UNC School of Law at Chapel Hill.  My legal experience is diverse and has been primarily based in district court. 

I have 26 years of legal experience as an attorney and 4 months experience as a sitting District Court Judge.  I worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Fayetteville NC for over 3.5 years where much of my time was spent prosecuting cases in District Court and managing jury trials and probation hearing in Superior Court.  I returned home to Kings Mountain and worked as a Juvenile Defense Attorney for 3 years with the Children’s Law Center, representing juveniles charged with misdemeanors and felonies.  For the last 19.5 years I represented the Cleveland County Department of Social Services with my primary duties being the establishment and enforcement of child support orders and the protection of adults from exploitation, abuse, and neglect.  When needed, I served as a backup attorney for juvenile abuse, neglect, and dependency cases.  Since my appointment by Governor Cooper, I have been serving Cleveland and Lincoln Counties as a District Court Judge Seat 2 since June 2024.  

I participate in my community in various roles and believe service is important.  I am an executive board member of the Cleveland County NAACP, a board member of the Cleveland County Abuse Prevention Council and a member of the Kings Mountain Womens’ Club.  I am the former First Vice Chair of the Cleveland County Democratic Party and a current State Executive Committee member.  I also serve as an ordained elder in my local assembly, Living Waters Christian Ministries.  I believe judges should serve the community not themselves.

My values, experience and service are rooted in my community and making sure my community is safe, and needs are met. I bring these experiences and beliefs to my current position as a District Court Judge. 

3.       What makes you the best candidate for this position, and how do you differentiate yourself from your opponents?

My experience, service and belief in justice make me the best candidate for this position. I have more experience than my opponent and I have had the benefit of working in various communities before various judges. These experiences have made me a better judge because I understand being a judge is about our community.  As a judge I focus is on the cases, people and communities affected by decisions I make.

4.       What long-term goals do you hope to achieve if elected to office?

As a District Court Judge one of my long-term goals is to make our communities safer and better.  I hope I can encourage young people to pursue a legal profession to help people.  I also hope to promote and restore trust in the judicial system by respecting parties that appear before me and giving them the opportunity to be heard.

5.       Why should voters choose you to represent them?

Voters should choose me to continue to represent them as a District Court Judge because of my experience, service to my community and my belief that I should seek justice and treat people with respect.  I have been a prosecutor fighting to keep my community safe.  I have been a defense attorney who worked to ensure the system was fair, those accused of crimes had the best defense and the best services available.  As a social services attorney I sought to ensure caretakers received financial assistance from absent parents and adults and children were protected.  My legal experience has focused on serving my community and I currently serve my community as a District Court Judge.  I humbly ask Lincoln County residents to vote to keep me, District Court Judge Angela Woods, in seat 2.

Angela Woods, For NC District Court Judge, District 39, Seat 2