Voters across Burlington and Graham opted for some new faces and one former one in their choices for mayor and city council candidates.
In Burlington, Beth Kennett who narrowly lost her first bid for mayor against then-mayor Jim Butler two years ago prevailed against councilman and former mayor Ronnie K. Wall to be Burlington’s next mayor.
Kennett bested Wall by 4,237 to 3,640 votes in all precincts across Alamance and eastern Guilford precincts.
Kennett also makes history as Burlington’s first woman mayor.
Former mayor Ian Baltutis led the balloting for one of two city council seats with 4,099 votes in Alamance and eastern Guilford precincts; former police chief Jeffrey Smythe ran a strong second with 3,687 votes. Donna M. Vanhook was third with 3,458 votes, and incumbent councilman Harold Owen trailed with 3,373 votes, defeated in his bid for a third term.
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In Graham, first-time challenger Chelsea Glen Dickey upset two-term incumbent Jennifer Talley. Unofficial election night returns gave Dickey 1,354 votes (almost 57 percent) to Talley’s 1,022 votes (about 43 percent).
Incumbent councilman Bobby Chin led the voting for two city council seats with 1,155. The second seat may be determined by provisional voters. Only 17 votes separate Jim Young with 1,102 votes and Randy Phillips with 1,085 votes. Daniel Alvis had 915.
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Only 17 votes separate second- and third-place finishers in race for Graham city council
In Elon, mayor Emily Sharpe had no challenger, winning reelection with 808 votes, 98 percent. First-time candidate Steve Exum led the balloting for two town council seats with 644 votes; first-term incumbent Randy Orwig was second with 516; and first-time challenger Michael Ratigan trailed with 450 votes.
In Gibsonville, councilman Bryant Crisp was elected to a two-year term to fill the remainder of former mayor Lenny Williams’ term, who resigned in January, as he led with a total of 599 votes on both sides of the Alamance-Guilford County line; Darian Smith had 94 votes; there were 198 write-in votes.
For the board of aldermen, first-time candidate Byron Bellman led with 675 votes for one of two seats; incumbent Paul Dean had 585.
In Mebane, three incumbents outpaced two challengers who didn’t actively campaign. Leading the voting in a combination of Alamance and Orange County precincts was first-term council member Montreena W. Hadley with 1,108 votes, mayor pro tem Tim Bradley was second with 878 votes, and first-term councilman Jonathan White won reelection with 816 votes. Blair Helms had239 and Rick Thomas had 201.
In Haw River, candidate Debbie Brown and incumbent Shawn Riggan faced no other challengers for the two available town council seats.
In Green Level, Patricia Jones and Jose McBroom won reelection with 123 and 108 votes respectively. Newcomer Lesley Sanders-Carter was third with 72 and former councilman Theodore “Ted” Howard had 62 votes.
In Swepsonville, first-time candidate Lee Walls led the race for three town council seats with 201 votes. Incumbents John Andrews was second with 181 votes, and Henry Carrouth, who currently serves as mayor, had 172. Incumbent councilman Wilbur Suggs was defeated with 138 votes.
In the Village of Alamance, incumbent mayor Don Tichy was reelected wtih 138 votes; winning three seats on the board of aldermen were incumbent Gayle S. Andrews with 150 vote, challenger Ken Cass with 145, and incumbent Dale Hunt with 137. Clustered close behind were incumbent Philip Cheap with 133 and Shawn Francis with 125.
In Ossipee, incumbents Jim McAdams and Richard A. Overman were easily reelected with no other challengers on the ballot.
See all vote totals HERE
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