Two incumbent mayors defeated in local elections

ROCKINGHAM — The results rolled in Tuesday for Richmond County’s municipal elections, which would have broad implications for the balance of power in the county.

There are two changes at mayor in local municipalities: Mayor Pro Tem John Hutchinson has defeated Rockingham Mayor Steve Morris and challenger Michael McRae and challenger Brenda Capel has defeated Ellerbe Mayor Fred Cloninger.

The candidates who secured another term before any votes were cast due to a lack of competition were: Hamlet Mayor Bill Bayless, Councilman Eddie Martin and Mayor Pro Tem Jesse McQueen, along with Hoffman Mayor Tommy Hart. Ellerbe Councilman John Sears Jr. is also running unopposed for his first full term after replacing Joe Grooms who resigned last winter.

There were 551 votes cast in the early voting period out of the total 10,340 eligible voters, or 5.33% of the electorate. At the end of the night, 1,586 voters cast their ballots in the county, for 15.34% of the electorate. In the 2019 local elections, 18.5% of the electorate came out to vote, according to the state Board of Election’s website.

The most heated race is for Rockingham mayor, which saw incumbent Steve Morris facing his first challengers since his first mayoral race in 2013. He faced his longtime colleague on the council, Mayor Pro Tem John Hutchinson, and newcomer Michael McRae who espoused sharp critiques of Morris’s and Hutchinson’s leadership of the city.

After the early votes were counted in the Rockingham mayor race, Hutchinson was in the lead with 238 votes with Morris trailing by 100 votes at 138, and McRae in last with 102. The incumbent candidates for Rockingham City Council are leading their challengers after the early voting period: Sullivan with 291, Edwards with 275, Willard with 261, followed by challengers Benson with 193 and Turner with 162.

The results below will be updated when all the precincts for the respective races have reported to the local Board of Elections, though these results are still unofficial. The results will be finalized on Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.

The winners are marked in bold:

ELLERBE (Final)

Mayor:

• Brenda T. Capel — 95

• Fred Cloninger (inc.) — 85

Town Council:

• Jean C. Fletcher (inc.) — 115

• Elsie L. Freeman (inc.) — 99

• Thomas R. Grooms — 88

• Bennett Hawks — 98

• John Sears, Jr. (running for full-term) — 144

HAMLET (Final)

Mayor:

• Bill Bayless (inc.) — 163

• Write-in (miscellaneous) — 5

City Council:

• Eddie Martin (inc.) — 137

• Jesse McQueen (inc.) — 136

• Write-in (miscellaneous) — 8

HOFFMAN (Final)

Mayor:

• Tommy Hart (inc.) — 36

Town Council:

• Riccardo Anderson (inc.) — 24

• Kyonna Jones — 29

• Rory K. Jones (inc.) — 29

• Daniel Kelly (inc.) — 31

• Cynthia A. Northcutt (inc.) — 28

NORMAN

Mayor: n/a

Town Council: n/a

ROCKINGHAM (Final)

Mayor:

• John Hutchinson — 581

• Michael McRae — 283

• Steve Morris (inc.) — 320

City Council:

• Jeff Benson — 442

• Anne M. Edwards (inc.) — 683

• Denise Sullivan (inc.) — 749

• Chris Turner — 363

• Gene Willard (inc.) — 637

“We felt like we had put forth a really good message because we wanted to run a campaign on ideas and about Rockingham’s potential and the possibilities,” said Hutchinson, citing the overall positive tone of the campaign.

Early on, Hutchinson said he plans on letting the other council members know of the potential they have to improve the quality of life in Rockingham. Hutchinson added that he was appreciative of Mayor Morris’s year of service and their friendship goes back decades.

“There are a lot of people who want to be included in what the city is doing,” Hutchinson said. “This is absolutely a wonderful community and town that we have. We have a lot of really good things here and good assets to work with.”

Hutchinson thanked the public for their trust and said he’s looking forward to working with partners across the county to instill a stronger sense of community pride.

Morris said that he’s disappointed with the results, but he said he knows that the Lord has something else in store for him.

“A lot of people voted for me, so I certainly appreciate that,” Morris said. “It just wasn’t enough.”

Morris wished Hutchinson well as mayor. McRae also congratulated Hutchinson on his victory and thanked Morris for his work during his time as mayor.

“I congratulate Mayor-Elect Hutchinson and I thank Mayor Morris for his service to his city,” said McRae. “We talked about issues in this campaign such as poverty and the black neighborhoods that have not been discussed in Rockingham for decades. I look forward to seeing Hutchinson move this city forward.”

McRae thanked his supporters and said that the issues he raised during his campaign don’t stop being important on election night.

“I want all young African-Americans in Rockingham to know that you matter and that I’m going to continue to make sure that we have representation in our city one day,” he said.

In an interview after the results came in, Cloninger congratulated Capel on her victory and thanked voters for electing him to the Town Council four years ago and electing him mayor two years ago.

“I felt like I’ve done the best job I can do for the citizens of Ellerbe and they decided they want to go in a different direction so I wish [Brenda] all the best,” Cloninger said. “We had started to slow the [financial] decline down and I just hope [the Town of Ellerbe] can continue turning this decline around and getting our finances where they need to be.”

Cloninger will retire from his position as the head of maintenance at Vulcan at the end of the year, so once Capel takes over Cloninger will be able to enjoy his retirement. He said he would try to make it to Ellerbe Town Council meetings, and would be open to offering his thoughts on local developments if Capel were to ask.

“For four years I’ve tried to do my very best for the town and for the citizens and I’m proud of what I have done and what the town has accomplished,” Cloninger said.

He added that he wouldn’t wish his first year as mayor on anybody — he dealt with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and from the county commissioners’ decision to switch from a per capita to ad valorem sales tax distribution method, was forced to consider dropping the town’s 24/7 law enforcement coverage and began plans to update the town’s aging water infrastructure.

Capel could not be reached by press time Tuesday night.