A pair of Greater Outer Banks incumbent mayors and three sitting town councilmembers have been ousted in Tuesday’s municipal elections, while new mayors will also be taking office later this fall in Edenton, Hertford and Winfall.
Kill Devil Hills Town Commissioner John Windley defeated incumbent Mayor Ben Sproul, while Manteo Town Commissioner Sherry Butcher Wickstrom ended Mayor Bobby Owens’ tenure in Manteo, with both elections decided by two-to-one margins.
Replacements will have to be named to fill out the rest of the terms that Windley and Wickstrom would have served through 2025 on their town boards.
Longtime Manteo Town Commissioner Darryl Collins came in sixth in the race for three seats on the board, while incumbent Rob Mooney was last in the Duck Town Council election for five seats. Christopher Richardson wound up third in a three person race in losing his Winfall commissioners seat.
In Duck, three of the four incumbents seeking reelection, Monica Thibodeau, Sandy Whitman and Don Kingston, will be joined by newcomers Kevin Lingard and Bren Chasen. The new council will select the town’s mayor at their first meeting in December.
Incumbents Ivy Ingram and B.J. McAvoy Jr. were easily reelected to the Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners.
Dylan L. Tillett was the top vote getter, followed by incumbent David Hines for the pair of Kitty Hawk Town Council seats up for election Tuesday.
Southern Shores voters gave Matthew Neal and Mark Batenic another term each on the town council, along with electing Robert E. Neilson to a his first term.
Incumbent Kevin Brinkley will be joined by Megan Lambert as members of the Nags Head Board of Commissioners serving from 2023-27.
On the mainland, Edenton Town Council member W. Hackney High was unopposed in his run for Mayor. Incumbent Sam Dixon and Patrick Sellers were elected to the council.
In Edenton’s First Ward Town Council race, Bob Turner leads by eight votes over both Travis Gilliard and Stephanie C. Bergeron. The final results could swing on outstanding absentee ballots.
Ashley Hodges will be the new mayor of Hertford, with Keith Rouse and Rhonda Waters taking seats on the Board of Commissioners.
Winfall has elected Preston Tyrone White to his first term as mayor. Newcomer Arnetta Ormond and incumbent Cynthia Gale White Cunningham took a pair of Board of Commissioners seats in Winfall, while fellow incumbent Christopher Richardson finished third.
In Columbia, Lloyd Armstrong and Sandra Owens won seats on the Board of Alderman.
The majority of municipalities across the state held their elections on Tuesday, the first for mayor and town councils/commissioners where a photo ID is required to cast a ballot in person.
Unofficial results of the contested races as reported to the N.C. Board of Elections. The election results will be certified on Canvass Day, which is November 17. (I) = incumbent.
Duck (1 of 1 precincts)
Town Council, five seats
Kevin Lingard, 237, 20.63%
Monica Thibodeau (I), 211, 18.36%
Sandy Whitman (I), 188, 16.36%
Don Kingston (I), 181, 15.75%
Bren Chasen, 180, 15.67%
Rob Mooney (I), 143, 12.45%
Edenton (2 of 2 precincts)
Mayor
W. Hackney High, 880, 97.78%
write-in, 20, 2.22%
Town Council, At-Large (2 of 2 precincts)
Patrick Sellers, 474, 48.47%
Susan Inglis, 328, 33.54%
Kay Green-Overton, 173, 17.69%
write-in, 3, 0.31%
Town Council, First Ward (1 of 1 precincts)
Bob Turner, 131, 34.75%
Travis Gilliard, 123, 32.63%
Stephanie C. Bergeron, 123, 32.63%
write-in, 0, 0.00%
Second Ward (2 of 2 precincts)
Samuel B. Dixon (I), 311, 95.40%
write-in, 15, 4.60%
Hertford (2 of 2 precincts)
Mayor
Ashely Hodges, 313, 61.61%
Reginald White, 192, 37.80%
write-in, 3, 0.59%
Town Council, two seats
Keith Rouse, 343, 34.33%
Rhonda Waters, 300, 30.03%
Gracie Felton, 200, 20.02%
Virginia P. Harvey, 155, 15.52%
write-in, 1, 0.10%
Kill Devil Hills (1 of 1 precincts)
Mayor
John Windley, 909, 69.98%
Ben Sproul (I), 385, 29.64%
Town Commissioner, two seats
Ivy Ingram (I), 970, 46.06%
B.J. McAvoy, Jr. (I), 768, 36.47%
Michael Denny, 339, 16.10%
write-in, 29, 1.38%
Kitty Hawk (1 of 1 precincts)
Town Council, two seats
Dylan L. Tillett, 467, 44.82%
David Hines (I), 363, 34.84%
Ron Tumolo 180, 17.27%
write-in, 32, 3.07%
Manteo (1 of 1 precincts)
Mayor
Sherry Butcher Wickstrom, 309, 63.45%
Bobby Owens (I), 176, 36.14%
write-in, 2, 0.41%
Town Commissioner, three seats
Tod Clissold (I), 293, 23.94%
Betty Govan Selby (I), 257, 21.00%
Hannah McOwen Forslund, 203, 16.58%
Jason Borland, 162, 13.24%
Michelle Estelle Lewis, 156, 12.75%
Darrell M. Collins (I), 145, 11.85%
write-in, 8, 0.65%
Nags Head (1 of 1 precincts)
Town Commissioner, two seats
Megan Lambert, 705, 42.75%
Kevin Brinkley (I), 585, 35.48%
T-Mike Morrison, 241, 14.61%
Keith Sawyer, 111, 6.73%
write-in, 7, 0.42%
Southern Shores (1 of 1 precincts)
Town Council (three seats)
Matthew Neal (I), 672, 31.23%
Mark Batenic (I), 578, 26.86%
Robert E. Neilson, 554, 25.74%
Mike Guarracino, 338, 15.71%
write-in, 10, 0.46%
Winfall (1 of 1 precinct)
Mayor
Preston White, 121, 69.54%
Jimmie Ritter Jr., 51, 29.31%
write-in, 2, 1.15%
Town Council, two seats
Arnetta Ormond, 103, 31.99%
Cynthia Gayle White Cunningham (I), 102, 31.68%
Christopher Richardson (I), 77, 23.91%
write-in, 40, 12.42%
