3 Wake towns have new mayors. Here are updated election results across the county.
The polls have closed, and nearly all of Wake County’s cities and towns held elections this fall with two exceptions.
Cary and Raleigh would both normally have elections in the fall of odd years but were pushed back due to a delay in redistricting data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Cary’s election will be held during the 2022 primary and Raleigh’s will be held in fall 2022.
Voter turnout was about 20.5% with 40,614 votes cast. Wake County had about 6,800 early votes and about 600 mail-in ballots.
Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs and Zebulon all elected new mayors after their longtime mayors did not seek re-election. Meanwhile, incumbent mayors in Knightdale, Morrisville and Wake Forest kept their seats.
Here’s a look at the unofficial results from Tuesday’s nights election. Bold denotes winners.
Apex
Six candidates competed for three seats on the Apex Town Council.
With all 13 precincts reporting, newcomer Ed Gray, and incumbents Brett Gannt and Audra Killingsworth have secured three spots.
Mayor Pro Tem Nicole Dozier did not run for re-election.
Apex is one of four Wake County municipalities that had a bond on the ballot. The vote was 72.22% in favor $42 million bond package for street and sidewalk projects.
APEX TOWN COUNCIL (Three seats)
Brett Gantt, incumbent, 18.71%
Ed Gray, 18.51%
- Audra Killingsworth, incumbent, 18.05%
- Tim Powell, 15.29%
Christine Hale, 15.29%
- Gordon Williford, 14.03%
Fuquay-Varina
For the first time in two decades, Fuquay-Varina will have a new mayor.
John Byrne, who has served on the board since 2001, announced he will not seek another term, paving the way for a new leader of the fast-growing southern Wake County town.
With all precincts in, Fuquay-Varina Commissioner Blake Massengill is leading the four-way race to be the new mayor.
Fuquay-Varina is one of four Wake County municipalities with a bond on the ballot for voters. The vote was in favor of $38.5 million bond package for parks and transportation projects.
FUQUAY-VARINA MAYOR (One seat)
Blake Massengill, 50.33%
- William “Bill” Harris, 41.51%
- Ty Ziglar, 6.93%
Richard Bridgers, 0.96%
FUQUAY-VARINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Two seats)
Tracy Watson, 35.15%
- Bryan Haynes, 32.75%
- Jason Ora Wunsch, incumbent, 31.27%
Garner
Three candidates competed for two seats on the Garner Town Council.
With all 14 precincts in, incumbents Kathy Behringer and Gra Singleton are in the lead.
Garner is one of four Wake County municipalities that had a bond on the ballot for voters. The vote was in favor of a $69 million bond package for parks, streets and sidewalks, public safety and stormwater projects.
GARNER TOWN COUNCIL (Two seats)
Kathy Behringer, incumbent, 35.31%
- Gra Singleton, incumbent, 34.62%
- Rachel Tourdot, 29%
Holly Springs
Holly Springs will have a new mayor for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Richard “Dick” Sears did not seek another term as mayor of Holly Springs.
With 11 precincts reporting, Sean Mayefskie defeated council member Christine Kelly in the mayor’s race.
HOLLY SPRINGS MAYOR (One seat)
Sean Mayefskie, 60.69%
- Christine Kelly, 39.18%
HOLLY SPRINGS TOWN COUNCIL (Three seats)
Dan Berry, incumbent, 24.22%
Timothy Forest, 22.8%
- Kristi Bennett, 22.47%
- Carrie Randa, 13.81%
Jahmar Cobb, 13.23%
- Susan Smith, 3.04%
Knightdale
Mayor Jessica Day leads former council member Charles Bullock for the seat. Day had been appointed to the seat earlier this year after James Roberson was appointed to fill a seat in the N.C. House of Representatives seat.
As for the three town council seats, incumbents Latatious Morris and Mark Swan will keep their seats joined by newcomer Steve Evans.
KNIGHTDALE MAYOR (One seat)
Jessica Day, incumbent, 73.45%
- Charles Bullock Sr., 26.19%
KNIGHTDALE TOWN COUNCIL (Three seats)
- Steve Evans, 27.2%
- Latatious Morris, incumbent, 26.06%
Mark Swan, incumbent, 23.88%
- Chris Parker, 21.67%
Morrisville
Two familiar faces sought to become Morrisville’s next mayor.
With all six precincts in, Mayor TJ Cawley is ahead in the polls to keep his seat against challenger and fellow Council member Liz Johnson.
Morrisville is one of four Wake County municipalities that have a bond on the ballot for voters. The vote was in favor $69 million bond package for parks, streets and sidewalks, public safety and stormwater projects.
MORRISVILLE MAYOR (One seat)
- TJ Cawley, incumbent, 59.36%
- Liz Johnson, 40.24%
MORRISVILLE TOWN COUNCIL, AT-LARGE (One seat)
- Steve S. Rao, incumbent, 62.41%
- James “Jim” Semmens, 37.19%
MORRISVILLE TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 2 (One seat)
- Donna Fender, incumbent, 90.5%
MORRISVILLE TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 4 (One seat)
Vicki Scroggins-Johnson, incumbent, 59.58%
- Patty Wei-Pei Cheng, 39.96%
Rolesville
Five people ran to join the Rolesville Board of Commissioners.
With all four precincts reporting, it’s a mix of incumbents and newcomers who lead for the three open seats.
ROLESVILLE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Three seats)
- April Sneed, incumbent, 25.08%
- Dan Tyrone Alston, 21.75%
- Paul Vilga, incumbent, 18.11%
- Jacky Wilson, incumbent, 17.61%
Steven D. Dieckhaus, 16.68%
Wake Forest
Two familiar faces ran to become Wake Forest’s next mayor.
With all 13 precincts reporting, Mayor Vivian Jones will retain her seat against Wake Forest Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon.
WAKE FOREST MAYOR (One seat)
- Vivian Jones, incumbent, 54.36%
- Bridget Wall-Lennon, 44.98%
WAKE FOREST BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Two seats)
R. Keith Shackleford, 25.55%
Nick Sliwinski, 24.87%
- Michael Molinaro, 24.56%
- Liz Simpers, incumbent, 19.52%
Patrick Griffin, 5.25%
Wendell
Several people ran to join the Wendell Board of Commissioners. Incumbent John Boyette did not run for re-election.
WENDELL BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Three seats)
Jon Lutz, incumbent, 20.23%
- Dean Eatman, 19.51%
Jason Joyner, incumbent, 18.92%
Allison Yeargin, 16.18%
Braxton Davis Honeycutt, 12.7%
- Michael Firstbrook, 9.31%
- Josh Sledge, 2.86%
Zebulon
With both precincts reporting, Glen York will be the next mayor, defeating Patrick Bolger in the race.
Longtime Mayor Robert Matheny, who has been on the board since 1994, did not seek another term.
ZEBULON MAYOR(One seat)
Glenn York, 83.18%
- Patrick Bolger, 14.83%
ZEBULON BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (Two seats)
Quentin Miles, 41.64%
- Beverly Wall Clark, incumbent, 21.08%
- Annie Jean Moore, incumbent, 18.8%
Kacie Germano, 18.28%
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 8:39 PM with the headline "3 Wake towns have new mayors. Here are updated election results across the county.."
