Clawson Wins Four-Year Mayoral Term

Leigh, Brantz, Ball Elected to Boone Council

Story by Anna Oakes

Top: Loretta Clawson celebrates after seeing the Boone vote totals, confirming her re-election as mayor. Above: Boone council candidates Andy Ball (left) and Jamie Leigh (right) review early voting totals. Ball and Leigh were both elected to the council. Photos by Anna Oakes

In unofficial results, the 2009 Boone town election saw Loretta Clawson easily win a third term as mayor and Andy Ball become only the second ASU student in history elected to the council.

The election began October 15 with the start of early voting and ended at 7:30 p.m. November 3, Election Day.

Voter turnout took a sharp dive in 2009 compared with the 2007 election. Only 11.7 percent—or 1,459 of 12,478 active registered voters—cast ballots in the Boone election, compared with 22.4 percent in 2007.

“We’re just very disappointed [in the turnout],” said Jane Hodges, Watauga County Elections director.

Of the total, 796 voters made their selections during the early voting period, while 663 pulled the lever on Election Day. The Board of Elections will verify the validity of absentee, provisional and early votes cast in the county’s town elections on Canvas Day on Tuesday, November 10, after which all votes will be certified as official.

With 787 votes, Clawson took 52 percent of the ballots in the mayoral race, defeating Tim Wilson, who had 474 votes, and John Mena, who garnered 237 votes. Earlier this year, the Boone Town Council voted to extend the mayoral term from two to four years; Clawson will be the first Boone mayor to serve the extended term.

“There’s a lot that needs to be done and still has to be done to steer our community in a sustainable direction,” Mena said Tuesday. “I hope that whoever wins will address these very, very important issues.”

In the race for three seats on the Boone Town Council, Jamie Leigh secured the most votes with 937, followed by Rennie Brantz—the only incumbent in the seven-candidate field—with 884, and Ball, with 828. After filing for candidacy in July, Leigh, an accountant, was appointed by the council in August to complete the final months of a two-year term vacated by Liz Aycock.

“I’m very happy; I’m just thrilled,” Leigh said Tuesday. “I wasn’t expecting to come in first, quite frankly.” During the campaign, Leigh said her top priority was fiscal responsibility.

Brantz, an ASU history professor, was elected to a second four-year term on the council. Because he was the third highest vote-getter, Ball, a senior at ASU, will serve a two-year term.

Ball said he felt honored to be elected and looks forward to representing all of Boone and working on revisions to the Unified Development Ordinance to incorporate more Smart Growth principles.

Finishing behind Ball were Matthew Long, with 510 votes; Harold Frazier, 492 votes; Grant Holder, 189; and Thomas Wilhite, 62.

“This wasn’t the time for me,” said Long, who thanked his supporters and said he plans to continue working on town committees to make Boone a better place.

Blowing Rock
One-term incumbent Tommy Klutz was re-elected to his seat on the Blowing Rock Town Council with the highest total of votes in the race—245.
Filling the seats of Council Members Barbara Ball and Keith Tester, who decided not to run for re-election, will be Jim Steele, who garnered 230 votes, and Doug Matheson, with 205 votes.

Matheson, who ran unsuccessfully for the council eight years ago, said, “It was a surprise to me.” Matheson thanked everyone who supported him and said he hopes he was elected because “people think that we will do the best job for Blowing Rock.”

Council members each serve four-year terms. Ball and Tester served 16 and 8 years on the council, respectively.

Vote totals for the other five candidates were Pat Fountain, 190; Mike Kebelbeck, 187; George Sudderth, 174; Jerry Starnes, 157; and Gary Lee Smith, 40.

Three provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

Blowing Rock Mayor J.B. Lawrence, who ran unopposed, was re-elected to a seventh two-year term.

Beech Mountain
The Beech Mountain Town Council race was highly competitive, with eight candidates running for three open seats. In unofficial results, it would appear that three challengers have ousted three incumbents, as Paul Piquet, Cindy Keller and E. (Rick) Miller have the three highest vote totals, with 90, 89 and 72, respectively.

Behind them were incumbent Gil Adams, currently serving as vice mayor, with 67; incumbent Peter Chamberlin, with 55; Barry Schorr, with 33; incumbent Randy Corn, with 32; and David Conrad, with 30.

However, nine provisional ballots have yet to be counted, which could change the outcome of the third seat depending on how many votes Miller and Adams receive. The two candidates receiving the most votes will serve four-year terms and the recipient of the third highest number of votes will serve a two-year term.

The Beech Mountain Town Council is comprised of five voting members, and the mayor and vice mayor are selected from and by the members.

Seven Devils
Incumbent Town Council member Kay Ehlinger took the most votes in Seven Devils election with 44, followed by challenger David Ehmig with 39 and incumbent Bob Dodson with 32. Incumbent Bill Wilkinson was defeated by two votes, with 30 total.

The two candidates that receive the most votes serve four-year terms, while the third successful candidate is elected to a two-year term. In Seven Devils, the mayor is selected by the council from among its membership and is a voting member of the council.

No provisional ballots were cast in the Seven Devils election.

Close Races in Avery Towns
Avery County municipalities saw an 11 percent voter turnout in this year’s races. Several of the races were very close, especially in Sugar Mountain, where only four votes separate the highest and lowest vote-getters in a field of four candidates vying for two seats on the Village Council. Both seats carry four-year terms.

In unofficial totals, incumbent Louise Anderson leads with 65 votes, followed by incumbent Bill Schmitt and Marjory Unrath, who are tied at 64, and Norris Clifton, with 61. Canvas Day on November 10 will determine the validity of any absentee, provisional and early votes cast in the race. After the canvas, if there is a tie between candidates, the race will be determined by flipping a coin, an Avery County Board of Elections official said.

In Elk Park, unofficial totals for the Town Council, with five seats open, are: incumbent Brad Benfield, 77; incumbent Tony Eller, 74; Daniel Boone, 70; incumbent Michael Smith, 69; Joel Whitley, 65; Neil Reece, 64; and incumbent Chuck Hicks, 52.

Newland Approves Beer, Wine Sales

By about 20 votes in both referenda, citizens of Newland approved the sales of malt beverages and wine in this year’s election.

Voters approved beer sales by a vote of 121 to 103 and wine sales by a 121 to 101 vote.

The Newland Town Council voted to place referenda for malt beverage and wine sales on the 2009 election ballot. A town official stated that Newland held a vote on beer and wine sales about 40 years ago but that both measures were voted down.

Newland does not have an ABC store or mixed drink sales.