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Five incumbent mayors ousted in Brunswick County

Posted by Debra Worley - email

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) - It was a bad election night to be an incumbent mayor in Brunswick County this year - five mayors lost their attempts at re-election.

Challengers in Oak Island, Southport, Boiling Spring Lakes, Belville and Bald Head Island were all winners at the polls.

Retired business woman Betty Wallace soundly defeated Oak Island's incumbent mayor Johnie Vereen. 

During her campaign she said she wanted to bridge the gap between the community and the town's government.  Wallace says one of the biggest issues going forward is growth because Oak Island has more than doubled in size.

"It's a big job ahead - to go and study all that [town's growth] and figure out what we're going to do with the doubled size of the Town of Oak Island in the future," said Wallace during an interview on Carolina in the Morning.

Southport incumbent mayor Sandra Spencer was defeated by newcomer Robert Howard, who said he was a little surprised by the results.

Howard won by a significant margin, with 65% of the vote.  Now, he is ready to get down to business.  Howard plans to hold meetings with the Town Alderman within the next couple weeks.

The vote totals remain unofficial until the county's board of elections conducts a canvass.  Click here to see the unofficial results for each county.

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