By Jesse Wood
Posted below are the unofficial results for the 2017 municipal elections in Watauga and Avery counties.
Official results won’t be released until canvassing, when the provisional ballots are counted. The canvass is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17.
Watauga County Board of Elections members Stella Anderson and Bill Aceto said that there are about 105 provisional ballots left to be counted during the canvass. Of those 105, roughly 100 are from Boone 2 precinct. Based on margins of victory, it’s unlikely any of the unofficial results will be reversed.
The big news of the night is Charlie Sellers, owner of the Blowing Rock attraction, is going to be the new mayor of Blowing Rock. For the past two decades, J.B. Lawrence has won election after election. On Tuesday evening, Lawrence took his loss in stride.
“We live in a great country with a great process, Jesse. The voters chose me for 20 years and now they’ve chosen somebody else, and I wish them nothing but the best,” Lawrence said.
Sellers couldn’t be reached.
Another talking point from the election is that incumbents struggled in several towns. In addition to Lawrence, Blowing Rock Councilman Ray Pickett lost. He was one of three incumbents running for council in the village. Both incumbents in the Boone Town Council race, Quint David and Jeannine Underdown Collins, lost. The same happened in Beech Mountain to Paul Piquet and E. Rick Miller.
In Newland, the three incumbents in the town council lost, too. David Paul Calvert, Erica Mckinney and Roxanna Roberson will be exiting office soon as Jamey Johnson, Lauren Jaynes Turbyfill and Joleta Wise fill their seats.
Scroll below to see election results from Watauga and Avery counties. Also, click to the N.C. State Board of Election website to view in a different format and see percentages and results from across the state.
Watauga County Municipal Elections
Precincts In: All But Beech Mountain
(I) = Incumbent
(#) = Council Seats Up For Election
Red = Unofficial Winner
BLOWING ROCK
Mayor:
- J.B. Lawrence: 227
- Charles Sellers: 298
Town Council (3):
- Doug Matheson (I): 405
- Ray Pickett (I): 231
- Virginia Powell: 287
- Sue Sweeting (I): 354
BOONE
Mayor:
- Rennie Brantz: 1242
Town Council (3)
- Marshall Ashcraft: 821
- Jeannine Underdown Collins (I): 551
- Quint David (I): 415
- Sam Furgiuele: 905
- Charlotte Mizelle (I): 298
- Jill Reeves: 128
- Connie Ulmer: 822
SEVEN DEVILS
Town Council (3):
- Tina Bailey: 63
- Bob Dodson: 29
- Kay Ehlinger (I): 40
- Brad Lambert(I): 51
- Barrie Winn: 27
BEECH MOUNTAIN
Town Council (3):
- Weidner Abernethy: 153
- Barry Kaufman: 167
- Carl Marquardt: 92
- E. Rick Miller (I): 40
- Paul Piquet (I): 42
Avery County Municipal Elections
Compiled by Tim Gardner
(I) = Incumbent
(#) = Council Seats Up For Election
BANNER ELK
Town Council (2):
- Michael P. Dunn (I): 28
- Robert Edgar Tufts (I): 25
CROSSNORE
Mayor:
Tudor Vance (I): 39
Board of Alderman (3):
- Jesse Smith (I): 30
- Dan Vance (I): 21
- Write-Ins (miscellaneous): 34 to be tallied during canvass
ELK PARK
Mayor:
- John Boone (I): 56
Town Council (5):
- Brad Benfield: 39
- Daniel Boone (I): 53
- Tony Eller (I): 57
- Tommy Norman (I): 56
- Michael E. Smith (I): 51
- Joel Whitley (I): 61
VILLAGE OF GRANDFATHER
Mayor:
- Bob Donovan (I): 12
Village Council (2):
- David G. Jones (I): 12
- Andre Tennille (I): 12
NEWLAND
Mayor:
- Valerie Calloway Jaynes (I): 97
- Write-in (miscellaneous): 17
Town Council (3):
- David Paul Calvert (I): 42
- Jamey Johnson: 109
- Erica Mckinney (I): 16
- Roxanna Roberson (I): 33
- Greg Seiz: 14
- Lauren Jaynes Turbyfill: 88
- Joleta Wise: 87
VILLAGE OF SUGAR MOUNTAIN
Village Council (2):
- David P. Ammann (I): 24
- Scott Brown (I): 21
You must be logged in to post a comment.