North Carolina, Charlotte- The 2021 local elections in Mecklenburg County culminated on the evening of Tuesday, November 2, with the election of new nonpartisan City Council officers and the re-election of several mayors.
Voters voted for contending candidates in all seven boroughs in the county: Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville and Stallings.
Preliminary results show that Huntersville Township elected a new nonpartisan mayor, Stacy Phillips. While at Mint Hill, an African American woman, Twanna Henderson, won a seat on the Board of Commissioners, which is made up of white men. Henderson is the first person of color to be elected to that Board.
According to the results of the County Elections Board, these were the chosen candidates:
Cornelius
The current mayor, Woody Washam Jr., will be re-elected by competing without an opponent.
All members of the Board of Commissioners stood for reelection, but only Denis Bilodeau will retain his position.
The results in the Mecklenburg local elections indicate that there was a nearly complete “sweep” of the Cornelius City Board, with the non-incumbents: Colin J. Furcht, Dave Gilroy, Michael Osborne and Todd Sansbury, who secured the seats.
The losing members of the Board of Commissioners are: Michael Miltich, Tricia Sisson, Jim Duke and Thurman Ross.
Davidson
Mayor Russell B. “Rusty” Knox Jr., competed unopposed. The Township Board of Commissioners will be almost entirely overhauled, except for incumbent Commissioner Autumn Rierson Michael.
The winners to fill the other positions were: the mayor “pro tempore” or “temporary”, Jane Campbell, Matthew Dellinger, Tracy Mattison Brandon, Ryan Fay and Dan Ryan, who defeated Jeff Boyd and Tim Neal.
Three of the four commissioners on the Board, Matthew Fort, Jim Fuller and Dave Sitton, did not run for re-election.
Huntersville
Huntersville was the only municipality in Mecklenburg County with a mayoral race. Since Mayor John Aneralla did not run for re-election, two female candidates, Melinda Bales and Jill Swain, competed for the seat.
According to the results, there was a somewhat close competition, but Bales won the election by 144 votes more than Swain. Bales is the current “pro tempore” mayor, and was first elected as a commissioner in 2011.
The Board of Commissioners winners were incumbents: Dan Boone, Lance Munger, and Stacy Phillips, along with non-incumbents Amber Kovacs, Derek L. Partee, and Rob Kidwell. Nick Walsh was the only starter not to secure the job.
Matthews
Mayor John Higdon was competed unopposed. On the Board of Commissioners, incumbents Renee Garner, Ken McCool, John Urban and Larry Whitley, along with Mark Tofano and Gina Hoover, won.
Mint Hill
Current Mayor Brad Simmons ran unopposed. The Board of Commissioners winners were Dale Dalton, Patrick Holton and Tony Long, who are incumbents, and African American Twanna Henderson.
Henderson, being African American, will add racial diversity to a board that is currently made up entirely of white males.
Pineville
Mayor John “Jack” Edwards ran unopposed. Christopher McDonough and Ed Samaha were the only two candidates on the ballot for City Council and will keep their seats.
Pineville has staggered elections for its City Council. Two City Council members, Amelia Stinson-Wesley and Les Gladden, still have two more years to serve. While two other members, Melissa Davis and Joe Maxim, whose terms are expiring, did not run for re-election.
Stallings
Mayor Wyatt Dunn competed unopposed. Here are the City Council winners: In District 1, Graham Hall; in District 2, David Scholl; in District 3, Taylor Rae Drake; and in District 6, Brad Richardson.
Stallings Council is the only borough in the county that is made up of district representatives, who are elected not just by the voters of their district, but from the entire borough.
Pending elections
This year the local elections were unusual, in the case of the elections for Charlotte Mayor and City Council, as well as the Mecklenburg School Board and Board of Commissioners, which were postponed to next year.
The delay in the delivery of the 2020 Census results caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, also delayed the redistricting that is required before those elections.
The primaries for these elections, as well as those for the Senate, federal House of Representatives, and the State Legislature, are scheduled for March, but the exact date depends on changes in redistricting. For its part, the general election for the Council and School Board would be in April or May.
Only county municipalities went to elections, because they are “nonpartisan” and do not require redistribution.
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