Spread the love

By Sonny Jones

Bladenboro will have a new mayor, the sale of mixed beverages will be allowed in White Lake and write-ins received more votes than candidates in two commissioners’ races, although it was unclear if a single write-in had more votes than the incumbent, based on unofficial returns from Tuesday’s municipal elections.

Only 25.25% of 5,592 registered voters in Bladen County’s seven municipalities cast ballots either on Tuesday or, in races in Elizabethtown and White Lake, during the final two weeks of October in early voting.

The Bladen County Board of Elections is scheduled to conduct its vote canvass Tuesday at 11 a.m. at its office at 301 South Cypress Street in Elizabethtown.

David Hales easily won the Bladenboro mayoral race with 184 votes to finish ahead of Joey Todd (75 votes) and Sue Elkins Hester (51 votes). Hales will replace two-term mayor Rufus Duckworth, who chose not to seek re-election.

Two of the three Bladenboro commissioner’s seeking re-election won — Jeff Atkinson (243 votes) and Gregory Sykes (216 votes) — while former Town Administrator Blake Proctor (159 votes) will join the board after receiving more votes than incumbent Lisa Levy (107 votes).

White Lake voters, by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, approved the sale of mixed beverages in the town. The final unofficial tally was 132 votes for and 68 against. Commissioners Mike Suggs, Paul Evans and Tim Blount each will serve another four-year term after running unopposed.

In Dublin, Commissioner Jeffrey Smith received 11 votes while write-ins had 21 votes. The Board of Elections will need to determine if one of the write-ins received more votes than Smith. Alex Hursey, the lone declared mayoral candidate, received 20 votes. He would replace outgoing mayor Darryl Dowless, who chose not to run for re-election.

It was the same situation in Tar Heel where Mayor Sam Allen was re-elected while Commissioner Steve Dowless received 17 votes compared to 23 for write-ins.

Elizabethtown incumbent commissioners Paula Greene, Rufus Lloyd and Herman Lewis each easily won re-election and Rich Glenn received 558 votes to fill the unexpired term of his late father, Dickie Glenn. Rich Glenn had been appointed to the seat.

Clarkton commissioners Stephen Wayne Hester and Jerome Myers each received 25 votes and will return to the board for another four-year term. Pamela Graham also will return to the East Arcadia board after running unopposed and receiving 44 votes.

Updated: Final-Unofficial, 8:45 p.m
BLADENBORO 2 of 2 precincts
COMMISSIONER (3 seats)	VOTES	MAYOR	VOTES
Jeff Atkinson	243	David Hales	184
Gregory Sykes	216	Joey Todd	75
Blake Proctor	159	Sue Elkins Hester	51
Lisa Levy	107	Write-In	0
Write-In	11
ELIZABETHTOWN 2 of 2 precincts
COMMISSIONER (3 seats)	VOTES	COMMISSIONER Unexpired term	VOTES
Paula Greene	525	Rich Glenn	558
Rufus Lloyd	520	Write-In	9
Herman Lewis	512
Ilka Huntley McElveen	237
Harfel Davis	178
William Moore	174
Write-In	9

DUBLIN MAYOR 1 of 1 precinct	VOTES	CLARKTON COMMISSIONER 1 of 1 precinct 2 seats	VOTES
Alex Hursey	20	Stephen Wayne Hester	25
Write-In	11	Jerome Myers	25
COMMISSIONER	VOTES	Write-In	1
Write-In	21
Jeffrey Smith	11

TAR HEEL MAYOR 1 of 1 precinct	VOTES	EAST ARCADIA COMMISSIONER 1 of 1 precinct	VOTES
Sam Allen	16	Pamela Graham	44
Write-In	1	Write-In	14
COMMISSIONER	VOTES
Write-In	23
Steve Dowless	17