THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090343
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Stuart Paul O'Neal made history Tuesday by becoming the first Republican in recent memory to be elected to the Currituck County Board of Commissioners.
O'Neal's 1,849 votes were enough to win the Currituck Board of Commissioners' Poplar Branch Township race against Democratic candidate Ray Griggs, who had 1,591 votes, and unaffiliated candidate John D. Donaldson Sr., who had 309.
Owen Etheridge of Shawboro was successful in his third bid for the county's at-large seat, beating Republican challenger Michael Weatherly, also of Shawboro, by 2,001 to 1,674 votes.
Democrat Eldon Miller Jr., who ran an uncontested race, earned 2,466 votes for the Moyock Township seat on the five-member board.
Currituck County Board of Education winners were: Garry Owens of Harbinger in the Poplar Branch Township with 1,038 votes; incumbent Sam Walker in the Crawford Township with 1,699 votes; and incumbent Mary Ellen Maxwell, who earned 1,654 votes for the at-large seat.
Like a majority of Currituck candidates on Tuesday's ballots,
O'Neal, 31, is a lifelong county resident who ran for public office for the first time.
The sales manager for an insurance company, who resides in Waterlily, said earlier that he ran to ensure that current and future generations of county residents would be well provided for.
He also hoped to restore public trust that he felt was lacking among county officials.
Both O'Neal and Etheridge, a financial planner and chairman of the county's planning board, wanted to make the rural county more accessible to citizens. O'Neal wants to televise public meetings, while Etheridge would move some commission sessions to other county venues.
The county boards of commissioners and education came underpublic fire last November after commissioners admitted they withheld news of more than $500,000 in school construction cost overruns until after voters approved a $16 million school bond referendum.
Last May the two incumbents running for re-election were defeated in the Democratic primaries. The county School Board also has taken a lot of heat recently for a recent state curriculum audit that, while highly favorable, noted high teacher turnover that may affect school instruction.
Other results in the School Board race for the Poplar Branch Township seat, in which Owens won, were Sharon Newbern, 983; Michael Arbogast, 713; Jimmy Jones, 526; and Clyde Cash, 136.
In the Crawford Township, challengers Wayne Graham received 631 votes and Wayne Sawyer garnered 1,033 votes.
Other results in the at-large race won by Maxwell were Wade E. Morgan, 1,006; Christopher Dailey, 551; and Colleen Dayhoff, 256.
In Pasquotank County, incumbent commissioners Jimmie Dixon and Patsy Rochelle McGee easily retained their seats by a 2-to-1 margin over Republican challengers Doug Wilcox and Tom Eichler.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA RESULTS by CNB