Towns poised for new mayors

There will be at least two new mayors in Sampson County and a third mayoral post up for grabs in the upcoming municipal election, which will see contested races for board seats in five towns.

Harrells is poised for a complete overhaul after its longtime mayor and two board members decided not to seek reelection, leaving four newcomers to vie for the three vacancies. A current commissioner and mayoral hopeful in Newton Grove has no competition and is poised to take the reins, while Turkey will see its sitting mayor take on a current commissioner challenging for the post.

The two-week filing period for the 2023 Municipal Election ended at noon Friday, with several late filings Thursday and Friday bringing the town’s election picture into focus.

Contested board races will take place in Clinton, Garland, Harrells, Salemburg and Turkey, while it will be status quo in Autryville and Roseboro. Mayors in Autryville, Clinton, Garland, Roseboro and Salemburg are poised to retain their seats with no opposition.

In Newton Grove, Gerald W. Darden is not seeking another term in office after spending the better part of the past two decades in the post. Newton Grove Commissioner Craig Warren filed to seek the mayoral post. His commissioner term does not expire until 2025 so his election as mayor would leave another commissioner seat vacant. The town board would have to approve that appointment.

Turkey commissioner Rudy Blackburn was a late filing for mayor in Turkey, and will be challenging Mayor Max Pope for the town’s top position.

Filing was open for mayoral seats in Autryville, Clinton, Garland, Newton Grove, Roseboro, Salemburg and Turkey — all of the county towns that do, in fact, hold mayoral elections.

The mayor is not decided by the people in Harrells. Aldermen are elected and they are responsible for choosing who among them will be mayor, however the current sitting mayor James C. Moore, mayor for more than two decades, did not file to seek reelection, nor did two incumbent aldermen, leaving the election wide open.

There are 21 multiple town board terms expiring this year, which includes multiple seats in every municipality. Among them are three seats in Autryville; two seats on the Clinton City Council (Districts 2 and 4); three in Garland (one being an unexpired term); three in Harrells; two in Newton Grove; three in Roseboro; three in Salemburg; and two in Turkey.

All town board members across Sampson, including the Clinton City Council, are elected to four-year terms. Mayoral terms are two years in Autryville, Clinton, Garland and Newton Grove, and four years in Roseboro, Salemburg and Turkey.

Towns at a glance

In Autryville, all incumbents are poised to return, with Mayor Grayson B. Spell and board members Mickie Spell, Kim Baker and Tommy Honeycutt all filing to retain their seats with no opposition presenting itself.

In Clinton, longtime Mayor Lew Starling is poised for his 12th term in office. He has been unopposed since winning election nearly 22 years ago. There will, however, be a contested race in District 2, with incumbent Neal Strickland facing off against newcomer Jess Bashlor. Holden DuBose has no challengers in District 4.

In Garland, Mayor Austin Brown is expected to retain his seat, with no opposition for the top post. It will be a hotly-contested race for three commissioner seats, with incumbents Carolyn R. Melvin and Barbara A. Peterson hoping to retain againstt challengers Timothy Blackburn and Anthony Norris.

The third Garland seat will be an unexpired term. About halfway through the filing period, the Sampson County Board of Elections announced that the unexpired term for Commissioner Haywood C. Johnson — appointed in March 2023 — would be added as a contest on the ballot for the upcoming municipal election. Johnson is seeking to fill the term, while Lee Carberry filed against him, according to elections officials. While other towns appoint vacated board seats to fill out the remainder of that particular term, Garland puts them up for election in the next possible cycle, local elections officials explained.

There will be plenty of new faces in Harrells, with longtime mayor James C. Moore declining to seek reelection, and town board incumbents Katie Greer and Ray Powell similarly bowing out. In their stead, four people, including Tony Arce, Brandon Creech, Charles D. Moore and Debra Ellerby, will be vying for three open alderman seats. The mayor is chosen from the elected town board.

In Newton Grove, Warren’s name will be the only one on the ballot for mayor after Darden announced his desire to step away after serving as the town’s leader for 18 of the past 22 years. Cody Smith and Bartley Warren, who was appointed, are poised to retain their seats with no others filing against them. Warren’s commissioner term does not expire until 2025 so his election as mayor would leave another commissioner seat vacant. The town board would have to approve that appointment.

In Roseboro, the leadership will stay intact, with Mayor Alice Butler and commissioners Richard Barefoot, Ray Clark Fisher and Mark Gupton seeking to retain their seats to no opposition.

In Salemburg, while unopposed Mayor Joe Warren is poised for reelection, there will be competition for three open board seats. At least one of those seats will be a new board member, as incumbent Michelle Hill did not file. In the race for the three seats are incumbents Juanita Faircloth and Grady Collier, along with Joe A. Royal and Scott G. McLamb.

Turkey will see contested races for both mayor and commissioner, with Pope pitted against Blackburn for the top spot and incumbents Tracie Pryor and Mike Smith hoping to retain their seats against challenger David Krch. Similar to the situation in Newton Grove, should Blackburn win election over Pope, that would leave another board seat open to fill his unexpired term.