DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711051109

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS 

                                            LENGTH:  133 lines

ALBEMARLE [NORTH CAROLINA ELECTION RESULTS]

Robinson wins

runoff election

for 4th Ward seat

In what he calls a ``miracle,'' 11-year City Council incumbent A.C. Robinson Jr. held off challenger William ``Olie'' Leary by a handful of votes in a runoff in the 4th Ward.

``It was a concern,'' Robinson said over the noise of his supporters celebrating in his home. ``I realize that when you believe in God, he does miracles with small numbers. I just believed we would come through.''

The 27 percent turnout matched the percentage voting in the citywide election last month.

In the Oct. 7 election, Robinson collected 313 votes to Leary's 306 in a three-way race. Carlotta Jordan finished a distant third.

Leary called for a runoff the next day. Both candidates have campaigned hard in the last month.

``This was wonderful,'' said Glenda Crane, director of the Pasquotank County Board of Elections. ``Hardly anybody shows up for a runoff.''

Robinson, a retired administrator at Elizabeth City State University, is the longest sitting member of the council and has chaired several council committees.

Two weeks ago, he was nearly elected as an officer of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, a prestigious position that would have drawn statewide attention to Elizabeth City.

In 1986, Robinson was one of the first blacks elected to the City Council after a bitter three-year lawsuit by the NAACP that forced Elizabeth City to change from an at-large system to a ward system. The ward system divided the city into more racially balanced voting districts. After the 1987 elections, the council was equally split - four blacks and four whites.

NAGS HEAD

Incumbent mayor

gets another term

Incumbent Mayor Renee Cahoon captured another four-year term by an almost 2-1 margin over Commissioner Doug Remaley.

Voters also returned incumbent Robert Muller to the town's board of commissioners, and elected businessman Brant Murray to the seat left vacant by the retirement of longtime Commissioner Lillian ``Doll'' Gray.

In the race for two seats on the commission, Muller and Murray were far and away the top vote-getters in the at-large election.

Murray finished second behind Muller. Dare County EMS Director Harry Seymour finished third, ahead of former commissioner Jeanne Acree, retired firefighter Pete Grana, retired engineer Charles Thompson and Dare County Deputy George Bowman.

Cahoon said her first priority as mayor would be building consensus on the new governing board, after a sometimes divisive municipal race.

Finishing the new municipal building and bike paths for the towns are among her top priorities.

``I'd like to create more recreational activities for Nags Head kids,'' Cahoon said. ``And I'd like to see us develop more sound and beach accesses.''

Despite the loss, the 50-year-old Remaley said he will work with the newly-elected board. He has two years remaining on the board.

A full field and the hot debate over candidates' occupations fueled a 54 percent turnout in Nags Head. Some 847 of the town's 1,570 registered voters went to the polls.

Cahoon, Murray, Acree and Thompson argued that a diverse board would insure the town's autonomy. Some were concerned that too many Dare County employees on the panel would dilute the town's strength.

KILL DEVIL HILLS

Errors delay results

in hotly contested races

More than 30 percent of the registered voters in the Outer Banks' biggest town turned out to cast ballots in Tuesday's race.

But about 200 of the voters didn't correctly color in all the ovals on their ballots, and the machine that counts the votes rejected them.

At 8:15 p.m., almost an hour after the polls closed, election officials had to drive a new machine from their Manteo office to Kill Devil Hills.

They planned to try to resubmit all of the ballots in hopes that the new machine would electronically tally them. But Elections Supervisor Lynda Midgett said her staff probably would have to hand count those 200 ballots.

``You've got some people that just will not follow instructions,'' Midgett said.

Although most of the towns' election results were in by 8:30 p.m., Midgett predicted that Kill Devil Hills voters would not know who won the hotly contested races until at least 10 or 11 p.m.

Tuesday morning, the candidates who were divided on issues during the campaign took opposite sides of the sidewalk when they greeted voters at the town hall election booths.

Commissioner E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson, who was running for mayor, and political newcomers J. Howard Kimble and Bill Pitt, who were running for council seats, stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the north edge of the concrete walkway, shaking hands and greeting voters in the warm November sunshine.

The men, who ran as a slate, each sported red lapel buttons bearing all three names with bold check marks beside them. And they echoed each others' promises to reduce taxes and cut trash pickups if elected. They were hopeful that by running together on a single ticket, they could change spending practices in their town - which has the highest tax rate on the Outer Banks.

REGION

Newcomers land seats

in Manteo, S. Shores

Political newcomers landed seats in Manteo and Southern Shores while all three incumbents running in Kitty Hawk were re-elected.

MANTEO elected three commissioners to its five-member board.

Political newcomer David Farrow, retired from the Coast Guard, received the most votes. Incumbent commissioners Dellerva Collins and Edward Etheridge each were elected to another four-year term. Commissioner Curtis Creech failed in his bid for re-election.

Manteo Mayor Lee Tugwell was unopposed.

About 27 percent of the town's 767 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

In SOUTHERN SHORES, a political newcomer also garnered the most votes in the race for Town Council. Paul Sutherland won a seat on the town's five-member board.

Incumbent Commissioner Carl Berntsen was re-elected to the other open seat.

Joe Campbell lost his first election bid in the town.

About 42 percent of the town's 1,656 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

Each seat carries a four-year term.

KITTY HAWK voters chose all three incumbents running to keep their seats on the five-member Town Council: Leo Antonucci, Ken Hollowell and Paul Pruitt.

Bill Fruit, a newcomer to the town's political arena, lost his first bid for election.

Each seat carries a four-year term.

The town councils in Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk will choose their own mayors. KEYWORDS: ELECTION RESULTS ELIZABETH CITY CITY COUNCIL RACE

NAGS HEAD MAYORAL RACE KILL DEVIL HILLS MAYORAL RACE KILL

DEVIL HILLS CITY COUNCIL RACE MANTEO BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RACE

MANTEO MAYORAL RACE SOUTHERN SHORES TOWN COUNCIL KITTY HAWK

TOWN COUNCIL

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