THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090345
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Democrat Randy Cartwright easily won the Pasquotank County sheriff's race Tuesday over Republican candidate H.T. ``Tom'' Marshall with 4,348 votes to Marshall's 1,959.
In two other contested sheriff's races, incumbents A.L. ``Bert'' Austin of Dare County and Beaufort County's Nelson Sheppard, both Democrats, easily staved off Republican challenges.
``I feel great, overjoyed by the big support I received, real appreciative of all the people in Pasquotank County that got out and voted for me,'' Cartwright said.
Voter turnout in the Pasquotank elections was 44.7 percent, election officials said.
Both Cartwright, 33, and Marshall, 47, were first-time candidates for the Pasquotank County sheriff's position held for 24 years by Davis M. Sawyer, who did not seek re-election.
During the campaign season, Cartwright, a Weeksville native now living in Elizabeth City, played up his 11 years of continuous law enforcement experience in the Pasquotank County area.
Previously a narcotics agent for the now-defunct Northeastern Regional Drug Task Force, Cartwright has said one of his biggest challenges will be to reduce the illegal drug trade in the area.
He hopes to make the sheriff's department a stronger presence in the community by eventually providing more manpower and deputy patrols.
Marshall is a former Norfolk police officer who moved to Elizabeth City about 12 years ago. Recently he has worked as a business consultant.
In Dare County, Austin easily defeated challenger Charles E. Dail on Tuesday. With 14 of 16 precincts reporting, Austin had 5,092 votes to Dail's 1,088.
A 62-year-old Hatteras Village native who has been sheriff since 1982, Austin vowed to continue the DARE program, which works with county schools on drug prevention and other issues. Austin was one of two 1993 North Carolina Sheriffs of the year. He serves as second vice president of the state Sheriff's Association and is a legislative committee member of the National Sheriff's Association.
Dail, a 48-year-old Kitty Hawk resident, was formerly chief of Nags Head's police department. In 1984, the town board fired Dail, he said, ``basically, for running outside activities on the job.'' Dail was an investor in three other Outer Banks businesses while serving as police chief.
In Beaufort County, Lorraine Voliva Linton of Belhaven lost her historic race for sheriff to 13-year incumbent Sheppard of Washington.
The Republican homemaker and student was among the first women in North Carolina to run for sheriff this year. Six filed for sheriff's offices statewide, but only three survived past the May primaries.
Sheppard, with almost 30 years of experience in law enforcement, wants to expand Beaufort County's narcotics squad and investigative units. He also has worked toward establishing a countywide 911 emergency service.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION NORTH CAROLINA RESULTS by CNB