Tuesday night was a bittersweet moment for Elon’s town council as its members welcomed one new colleague to the dais and bid farewell to another.
During the course of a two-hour meeting that evening, Elon’s mayor Emily Sharpe administered the oath of office to newly-elected councilman Steve Exum, who had led the field in this year’s three-way race for two of the council’s available seats.
A 20-year resident of Elon, Exum was accompanied by his wife Molly and his son Sawyer, while other family and friends packed the council’s meeting chamber – including Exum’s 90-year-old father Jim, who had once served as the chief justice of North Carolina’s supreme court.
Sharpe, who had run unopposed in November’s election, took her own oath of office on Tuesday alongside her husband, Logan, and their daughter, Lyla Kate.
Meanwhile, she swore in incumbent town councilman Randy Orwig, who had placed second to Exum in the city council race, to another four-year term on the council. Orwig, a soon-to-retire pastor at Elon Community Church, was joined by his wife Beverly.
These oaths of office followed the council’s formal adieu to outgoing member Stephanie Bourland, who had opted not to seek reelection this year. In her parting remarks, Bourland commended her colleagues for the sense of public spirit they’ve shown throughout her four years in office.
“Everybody has the idea that people who get into public service do it for selfish reasons,” Bourland acknowledged. “But these are the most selfless people you’ll ever meet in your life. . . I’m so proud of these people, and I’m so overwhelmed to have served with them.”
