Monday, June 5, 2023
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on November 8, 2022
In an election when local Republicans were either uncontested or victorious, incumbent first-term Republican Ervin Bateman defeated Democratic challenger Heather Euler in the battle for the one contested seat on the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
At the same time, Republicans Ron Payne and Matt Brauer outpolled Unaffiliated candidates Jessica Fearns and Marie Russell, respectively, in their races for the two contested seats on the Dare County Board of Education.
With all 16 county precincts reporting, and nearly 18,000 eligible voters casting ballots, the unofficial results show Bateman garnering a substantial win for the At-Large seat on the board, defeating Euler by a 63-37% margin.
The two board of education races were a bit closer, with the two results virtually the same. In the District 2 race to succeed retiring incumbent Joe Tauber, Payne garnered 57% of the vote to 43% for Fearns. In the District 3 race to succeed retiring incumbent Margaret Lawler, Brauer defeated Russell by a 58% to 42% tally.
In a substantially tighter race for the Dare County Register of Deeds, incumbent Republican Cheryl House took 52% of the vote compared with 48% for Democrat Andrian (Sweet Pea) Tillett.
In the contest to represent District 3 in the U.S. Congress, with about 90% of the precincts in the district reporting, incumbent Republican Greg Murphy was defeating Democratic challenger Barbara Gaskins handily, capturing about two-thirds (67%) of the vote. In Dare County, with all the precincts reported, Murphy defeated Gaskins by about 20 points – 60% to 40%.
But in a reflection of the relative strength of the two parties here, many of the local races were decided well before the Nov. 8 Election Day because Republican candidates ran without any Democratic opposition.
Two Republican incumbent Dare County Commissioners, Jim Tobin (District 1) and Rob Ross (District 2) were unopposed on the ballot. One candidate for the Dare County Board of Education, Barry Wickre (District 1), was unchallenged in his bid to replace retiring Republican Frank Hester.
Norman Sanderson, an incumbent Republican ran without opposition for the reconfigured District 1 North Carolina State Senate seat. And the two N.C. House incumbents who will represent Dare County, Republicans Kenneth Kidwell (District 79) and Edward Goodwin (District 1) also drew no challengers in the general election. The new redistricting maps split Dare County into two NC House districts, a move that angered some local leaders.
Republican Jeff Cruden, who has been the District 1 Assistant District Attorney, will succeed his old boss Andrew Womble as District 1 District Attorney, without facing a November opponent. At the same time, Republican Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie and Clerk of Superior County Dean Tolson also ran uncontested.
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Can’t wait for a new generation
Oh wonderful. More of the same backwards direction for dare county.
Concerned Parent
Wow. Dare to Share is now running the school board. Scary.
Concerned Staff Member and Parent of 3
So let me get this straight.
Ten to twelve Dare to Share bully’s ruin school board meetings for 2 years, force 3 board chairman moves because no one can control a meeting, the entire central office leaves and now they are running the school board with 3 incoming hand picked recruits to go along with a former employee who ran for the wrong reason. This is the best we could do?
My entire building is shook up this morning. I can’t believe it. Home or virtual school may have to be on the table for a lot of people.
SaveOurChildren
The parents have SPOKEN. They have said No.
No to Indoctrination.
No to CRT.
No to Gender Dysphoria.
No to Grooming.
No to Sexualizing Children.
No to keeping Secrets from parents.
They said Yes to Education.
Yes to Parental Choice.
Yes to Parental being a participant in the Education of their Children.
While the WHOLE WORLD is educating their children, the US has chosen to groom and sexualize them. Between this and the COVID closings, child suicides of increased significantly.
I am so glad that the Parents said No and Yes to the new Board Members.
Jeff Walker
Well at least we’ll get some more comedy out of the school board’s nutbar shenanigans.
bob
What did Ron Payne get suspended for?
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
As we noted in our story, the district’s reasons were never made public.
Pearl
My sympathies to the students and teachers. Although we will probably no longer have any teachers because what could they possibly teach?? am sure they will want no biology or science lessons, or history, or reading or libraries because HEAVEN FORBID the students have an actual thought of their own.
David Skaggs
The good news with Dare to Share taking over is they can’t charge out of the stands at board meetings since they are now on the other side of the table.
Com Terino
If D2S is running the board can we flip the script and have former board members and employees heckle, charge the board in meetings and make 3,457 public information requests?
Lamanda Totus
If Dare to Share is running the board can they sue themselves?
Lonnie Vanquist
Do Payne and Brauer have to turn in their D2S membership cards when sworn in? This is a real thing.
Nosey OBXer
@save our children
LMAO at your QAnon post -the kids will be indoctrinated now which means- Teaching your beliefs only to our children without any critical thinking.
BTW -ever check your kids social media site for sexual content?
What are the secrets “they” are keeping from parents? I would like to know how and who is “grooming” and “sexualizing “our children.
Feeling sorry for the teachers and children having to put up with crazy conspiracies.
Wobbly Bells
Hip, hip hooray! It’s about time the book banning commenced!
Bart
Let’s get back to the things that matter like moving board meetings to Manteo.
Randy
Dear “Save Our Children”- (and we know who you are).
The only children who aren’t being saved are your own because you are embarrassing them with your maniacal 24/7 political agendas as opposed to actually playing parents. Block your crazed list serves and get back to reading to your children at night. You’ve accomplished nothing except spread negativity at a time when we didn’t need it.
Look@See
This is awesome news!! This is EXACTLY why we moved here, to get away from the lunatic leftists on the west coast. We are proud to have voted a straight Republican ticket and our entire household will gladly do so next election as well.. Go live somewhere else leftists that have never had to live with the consequences of your horrible decisions and then get back to me.. for those that moved here and voted for liberals why did you leave if they’re so great? Admit your mistakes and change your actions or go back where you came from…
Bill
I’m glad my youngest will be graduating next year.
Connie H
Interesting that Twiddy tipped his hand when introducing Basnight last night and stated “we’ve waited a long time for this”.
I though the “search” just ended???
Twiddy and Ballance think they’re slick and are winning points by hiring “from within”. Um you didn’t hire from within, you threw money at a retiree from another county who can now pad his retirement.
Freenusa
Connie H, your comment is nasty. I too, not affiliated with the schools have hoped for this. Steve Basnight, I believe, is very qualified. He will shine. He understands Dare County Schools and I believe, has the insight and guidance to start to bring our students back from the losses experienced from the “covid lockdowns”.
I've read a book for pleasure
Great, now the Republican party can do the same thing for Dare County Schools as they are doing for UNC. Run it into the ground and hire political lackeys to run it. Congratulations Dare Co.il