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"Go ahead and run," Becky Smothers' doctor told her last week.

So High Point's mayor is off and running for a third straight term and sixth overall.

At the moment, Smothers has the field to herself. Any potential challengers out there must know that knocking this woman out would take some doing. A rare form of breast cancer couldn't; political opponents wouldn't give her half the battle.

The mayor waited to see what her latest tests showed, she told me today. Last week her CT scans were clean, she got her doc's OK, and yesterday she filed her papers.

Smothers held the city's top office from 1992 to '99, and has been back since 2003. She's 69 and full of vim and vigor.

Still, she paused and asked herself whether she's served long enough. "Is it time to stop?" But she didn't see anyone else who'd invested the energy to prepare for the job. She also wants High Point to "be a player, not be left out" as Triad communities pursue regional issues down the road, like merging of services.

Smothers has been active in regionalism for a long time. She's a respected leader across the Triad. She's candid, focused and determined. She's been a natural as mayor, and it's good for High Point that, voters willing, she won't be giving up or giving in yet.

Long-time Ward 2 Councilman Ron Wilkins, meanwhile, is thinking about taking some time off.

"I haven't quite decided," he said this morning. "I'm leaning on not running. If I don't run, I'll be back."

Word has gotten around because three candidates already have filed in Ward 2: Tony Davis, Pride Grimm Jr. and Foster Douglas. There's no primary, and winning will require a plurality of votes, not a majority.

Wilkins didn't comment on those contenders but added of the Council: "They're going to miss me when I'm gone because there's nobody like me."

He's right. Wilkins has a booming laugh and a heart for serving others. A Baptist minister who pastored a tiny congregation for years, he's earned a living in a variety of ways, including as a cab driver. He gets around by bus, and has been a strong advocate for expanding routes and hours of service. I'll write more about Wilkins later if he decides to step down.

The biggest surprise so far is at-large Councilman John Faircloth's shift to Ward 6, where Lisa Stahlmann won't seek re-election. Also running in that ward is Jim Corey, a retired High Point University political science prof.

Faircloth, a one-time city police chief who went into real estate, told me he wants to bridge the gulf between north High Point and "old" High Point. He feels well qualified to do that because he lived in Emerywood when he first moved to town in the '70s, then moved to Skeet Club Road about the time north High Point development was booming.

There has been some friction across the north/south divide, not only about high school assignment plans, Faircloth said.

He's right. High Point, although just passing the 100,000 mark in population, seems smaller when it's divided in two. Inner city redevelopment requires the support of the entire city. But development concerns of north High Point residents deserve attention, too.

"I feel like I can do some good" in terms of strengthening connections, Faicloth said.

Incumbent Latimer Alexander is running again for one of two at-large seats. Mary Lou Blakeney also has filed to run.

More to come as filing continues until Aug. 1.

You can see the list of candidates here.