Voting in Johnston County is over. Here are the incumbents, newcomers who won.
Voters went to the polls in several towns across Johnston County Tuesday to elect their next mayors and town council and board members.
Nearly all of Johnston County’s towns held elections this fall, except for Smithfield, where mayoral and Town Council contests have been delayed until 2022 due to a delay in redistricting data from the 2020 U.S. Census.
Here’s a look at unofficial results from Tuesday night’s election.
With 19 out of 19 precincts reporting across the county, the North Carolina State Board of Elections reported that a total of 2,671 ballots were cast in this year’s elections. That figure includes ballots cast on Election Day, through one-stop early voting, and through absentee mail-in voting.
Before election results are finalized, the Johnston County Board of Elections will review any provisional ballots that were cast, as well as any ballots cast for write-in candidates, during meetings next week.
In the race for the Micro Board of Commissioners, the elections board will review the 27 ballots cast for write-in candidates to determine if any eligible candidates received more votes than incumbent Commissioner Marty Parnell, who got 26 votes.
Candidates marked with an (i) are incumbents, and those whose names are bolded are winners in their races.
ARCHER LODGE TOWN COUNCIL
Incumbent Archer Lodge Council members Teresa Bruton and Mark Wilson ran for re-election unopposed.
With both of the town’s precincts reporting, Bruton received 48 votes, Wilson received 38 votes, and 11 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Teresa Bruton (i): 49.48%
▪ Mark B. Wilson (i): 39.18%
BENSON MAYOR
Incumbent Benson Mayor Jerry Medlin ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Medlin received 350 votes. A total of 15 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Jerry M. Medlin (i): 95.89%
BENSON TOWN COMMISSIONERS AT-LARGE
Incumbent Benson Commissioners Maxine Holley and Williams Neighbors ran for re-election, and newcomer Will Chandler ran to fill a third at-large seat vacated by outgoing commissioner Jim Johnson.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Holley received 178 votes, Chandler received 165 votes, and Neighbors received 74 votes.
▪ Maxine Peacock Holley: 42.69%
▪ Will T. Chandler: 39.57%
▪ William Neighbors: 17.75%
CLAYTON TOWN COUNCIL
The Clayton Town Council was guaranteed to get at least two new members, with council member Michael Grannis the only incumbent in a field of six candidates competing to fill three vacant seats.
With all seven of the town’s precincts reporting, newcomers Porter Casey, Andria Archer and Mike Sims were elected to the town council, receiving 830 votes, 827 votes and 766 votes respectively.
Grannis, the incumbent council member, received 408 votes, Bob Satterfield received 221 votes and Alsey Gilbert received 121 votes. A total of 17 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Porter Casey, Jr.: 26.02%
▪ Andria Archer: 25.92%
▪ Michael “Mike” Sims: 24.01%
▪ Michael Grannis (i): 12.79%
▪ Bob Satterfield: 6.93%
▪ Alsey J. Gilbert: 3.79%
FOUR OAKS MAYOR
Vic Medlin, currently a town commissioner and the mayor pro tem, ran for mayor unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Medlin was elected mayor of Four Oaks, receiving 125 votes. A total of 14 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Vic Medlin: 89.93%
FOUR OAKS BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Incumbent Four Oaks Commissioners John Hatch and Mike Hines ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, both commissioners were re-elected. Hatch received a total of 131 votes, Hines received a total of 126 votes, and 5 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ John G. Hatch (i): 50%
▪ Mike Hines (i): 48.09%
KENLY MAYOR
Former Kenly Mayors David Grady and Tooie Hales competed in a three-person race to become the next mayor.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Hales received 77 votes, edging out Grady, who received 66 votes, and Wood, who received nine votes.
▪ H.L. (Tooie) Hales: 50.66%
▪ David L. Grady: 43.42%
▪ Thomas Wood: 5.92%
KENLY TOWN COUNCIL
Incumbent Kenly Council member Trinity Henderson ran for re-election alongside newcomer Mark Smith, and neither candidate faced any competition.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Smith received 112 votes, and Henderson received 89 votes. A total of four votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Mark Smith: 54.63%
▪ Trinity Henderson (i): 43.41%
MICRO MAYOR
Incumbent Micro Mayor Jay Warren ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Warren received 47 votes. A total of three votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Walter “Jay: Warren Jr. (i): 94%
MICRO TOWN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Incumbent Micro Commissioners Russell Creech, Marty Parnell and Kevin Worley ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Creech received 42 votes and Worley received 41 votes. Parnell received 26 votes, one fewer than the 27 total votes cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Russell Creech (i): 30.88%
▪ Kevin Worley (i): 30.15%
▪ Marty E. Parnell (i): 19.12%
The Johnston County Board of Elections will review the 27 ballots cast for write-in candidates to determine if an eligible, living person received enough votes to defeat Parnell.
In order for that to happen, all 27 write-in ballots would have to be cast for the exact same individual, according to Leigh Anne Price, director of the county board of elections.
If there are fewer than 26 votes cast for a single, eligible write-in candidate, Parnell would win re-election, Price said.
In the event of a tie, which is rare but has been known to happen in local races with relatively small vote totals, the names of the candidates who were tied would be put into a bucket, and a county employee chosen at random would select the winning candidate. Municipal elections with ties have been settled by coin-flipping in the past as well.
PINE LEVEL MAYOR
Incumbent Pine Level Mayor Jay Jeffrey Holt ran for re-election unopposed.
With both of the town’s precincts reporting, Holt was re-elected as mayor, receiving 61 votes.
▪ Jay Jeffrey Holt (i): 100%
PINE LEVEL BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Incumbent Pinel Level Commissioners Greg Baker, Jimmy Garner, Phil Pittman and Bill Radford ran for re-election unopposed.
With both of the town’s precincts reporting, all four incumbent commissioners were re-elected. Baker received 49 votes, Pittman and Radford each received 47 votes apiece, and Garner received 43 votes. A total of seven votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Greg Baker (i): 25.39%
▪ Phil Pittman (i): 24.35%
▪ William H. “Bill” Radford (i): 24.35%
▪ Jimmy F. Garner (i): 22.28%
PRINCETON MAYOR
Incumbent Princeton Mayor Donald Rains ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Rains received 80 votes. A total of 14 votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Donald B. Rains (i): 85.11%
PRINCETON BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Incumbent Princeton Commissioner Broderick Robinson competed with newcomers Ashley Boyette, Michael Edwin Holmes and Jimmy Tart to fill two vacant seats.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Robinson was re-elected to the board of commissioners with 67 votes, and Holmes was elected with 53 votes.
Tart received 45 votes and Boyette received 26 votes.
▪ Broderick Robinson (i): 35.08%
▪ Michael Edwin Holmes: 27.75%
▪ Jimmy L. Tart Jr.: 23.56%
▪ Ashley Boyette: 13.61%
SELMA MAYOR
Newcomer Byron McAllister ran unopposed as incumbent Selma Mayor Cheryl Oliver did seek another term.
With all three of the town’s precincts reporting, McAllister received 294 votes. A total of seven votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Byron McAllister: 97.67%
SELMA TOWN COUNCIL
The Selma Town Council was guaranteed to gain two new members with eight newcomers, Monica Antes, Tommy Holmes, Kayla Jentes-Sagester, Troy LaPlante, Bruce McKay, Rich Nixon, William Overby and Amy Whitley competing to fill two vacant seats.
With all three of the town’s precincts reporting, McKay and Whitley were elected to the town council, winning 150 and 121 votes respectively.
Overby received 103 votes, Nixon received 87 votes, LaPlante received 42 votes, Jentes-Sagester received 40 votes, Holmes received 26 votes and Antes received 22 votes. A total of three votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Bruce McKay: 25.25%
▪ Amy W. Whitley: 20.37%
▪ William Overby: 17.34%
▪ Rich Nixon: 14.65%
▪ Troy LaPlante: 7.07%
▪ Kayla Jentes-Sagester: 6.73%
▪ Tommy Holmes: 4.38%
▪ Monica Antes: 3.70%
WILSON’S MILLS MAYOR
Incumbent Wilson’s Mills Mayor Phillip Wright faced two challengers, Fleta Byrd and Shawn Fritz, in his re-election bid.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Byrd defeated Wright, receiving 64 votes to his 22 votes. Fritz received 52 votes.
▪ Fleta A. Byrd: 46.38%
▪ Shawn Fritz: 37.68%
▪ Phillip R. Wright (i): 15.94%
WILSON’S MILLS TOWN COUNCIL
Incumbent Wilson’s Mills Council members Tim Brown, Randy Jernigan and David McGowan ran for re-election unopposed.
With the town’s only precinct reporting, Brown received 101 votes, Jernigan received 100 votes, and McGowan received 82 votes. A total of two votes were cast for write-in candidates.
▪ Tim Brown (i): 35.44%
▪ Randy N. Jernigan (i): 35.09%
▪ David J. McGowan (i): 28.77%
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 9:29 PM.
