Ellerbe has a new mayor — sort of.
Former mayor Lee Berry was reelected Tuesday over Councilman Jeremy McKenzie in Ellerbe’s municipal election with 105 votes over 48, according to the unofficial figures from the Richmond County Board of Elections.
Berry, co-owner of The Berry Patch, previously served three terms as mayor. McKenzie has been on the town board since being elected in 2015.
McKenzie conceded in a Facebook post saying that he will “continue to work tirelessly to serve on the Town Council and help move our Town forward.”
Newcomer Heather Pack received the most votes (89) for a seat on the town council, followed by incumbent Jean Fletcher (84) and fellow challenger Jimmy Bowles (83).
Incumbents Elsie Freeman and Bennett Hawks, as well as challenger Martin Chavis III, failed to secure enough votes to make the top three. There were also three write-in votes.
The Ellerbe ballot also featured a vote on allowing mixed beverages, an initiative approved by 67.79% of the voters.
For the other municipal races around Richmond County, most of the incumbents kept their seats.
In Hamlet, Mayor Amy Guinn was officially unchallenged, though Axe to Grind owner Raymond Mills was running a write-in campaign. Records show there were 447 votes for Guinn and 98 write-ins.
Councilmen Eddie Martin and Tony Clewis both retained their seats against challengers Dr. Amber Daniels and Esco Latimer.
Hoffman Mayor Karla Bostick was reelected with two of the 46 ballots cast featuring a write-in.
April Watkins unseated Riccardo (Ricky) Anderson by tying with Daniel Kelly for the second-highest number of votes (39) behind Rory Kevin Jones (42). Kyonna Jones and Cynthia Northcutt were also reelected.
Grace Bostick was two votes behind Northcutt with 27 and Anderson received 21. There were also two write-ins for the council.
Rockingham Mayor John Hutchinson will keep his seat following a challenge from Christopher West, with the incumbent securing 87.14% of the vote, with three write-ins.
Gregory Leberth will fill the seat being vacated by Gene Willard and join Debbie Wrenn and Denise Sullivan on the city council.
Challenger Matt Demay received 12.31% of the vote and there were 12 write-ins.
All vote totals are unofficial until canvassing by the Board of Elections.
