Bladenboro mayor: Three candidates making their best shot to succeed Duckworth

BLADENBORO — The three candidates running for mayor of Bladenboro all live on Main Street near the downtown district, and all within about a block from one another.

On Nov. 2, which is Election Day, Bladenboro voters will have the option of casting their vote from the pool of three applicants campaigning for the job.

David William Hales Jr., Sue Elkins Hester and Joey Lee Todd will be on the ballot for the politically unaffiliated contest. The elected candidate will be replacing two-term Mayor Rufus Duckworth, who has decided not to run for reelection.

Trying to get a sense of the Bladenboro’s mayor race — and who might win — is not an easy thing to do in this Bladen County town of more than 1,100 residents. Most people approached for an opinion on the election opted to stay mum. Some said they weren’t politically minded or that they preferred to stay clear of the town’s politics.

“Everybody knows everybody here,” one businesswoman said, declining to go on the record with her thoughts on the upcoming race. She did offer that “all three are good people.”

Taylor Parker, 28, of Bladenboro, was the exception. This assistant manager was working behind the counter at the Dollar General on Seaboard Street.

She said she intends to vote for Hales: “I think Mr. David has been around long enough he knows what this town is about.”

As for what Parker sees as important issues in this election for mayor, she said, “Drugs being tackled and something for the kids to do. I have three kids, and I have to go to Lumberton, Elizabethtown, Whiteville or Fayetteville for something to do.”

After eight years in office, the 64-year-old Duckworth said it’s time to step down. He’s ready to enter a new phase of his life.

“I was on the planning board for 19 years; 17 of them, I was chairperson. And eight years as mayor,” he said from the B-boro Hardware Company where he has worked as manager for 12 years. “I’ll be 65 next year and want to enjoy my life with no restrictions.”

When he was recently interviewed, Duckworth had not openly endorsed either of the candidates to replace him. But with a slight smirk, he said, he may “possibly” before the election.

“It’s not easy. We’ve had two 500-year floods and COVID come along. It’s been quite a challenge for eight years,” he said of the mayor’s role in the town.

Bladenboro opted not to hold early voting, so voters will have to cast their ballots on Election Day, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the town’s two precincts. Those will be the Bladenboro Historical Building, at 818 S. Main St., and Spaulding Monroe Arts Center, at 508 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Todd

Joey Lee Todd, as his name appears on the Board of Elections list of candidates, said Bladenboro has fallen into a stalemate.

“It’s going, and it’s just routine,” he added. “They don’t act on what needs to be done. Every commissioner should be supported equally because they have the same input. I know some have been commissioners longer than others, but all of them are elected officials and have the same responsibility.”

Todd, who is 55 and has called the Bladenboro area home all his life, has been a deputy with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office since May of this year. Before that, he worked with the state Department of Human Safety’s Department of Juvenile Justice before retiring from that position in February 2020.

“I’m not a politician,” he said matter of factly, “and I don’t plan on becoming a politician.”

Rather, he said, he has the traits to get the job done because of his excellent leadership. Todd pointed out that he has been involved in state or local government for 32-plus years. That includes seats on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board at Bladen Community College and the State Employees’ Credit Union Advisory Board in Elizabethtown. Along with those advisory positions, he said he has alternated each year either as chairman or vice chairman of the Juvenile Crimes Prevention Council in Bladen County.

As for what he considers to be important issues in the race, Todd cited “getting things for the youth of the town and more transparency regarding town business. … I’m not a fan of closed session. Everything should be out in the open.

“One of the things I would love to do if I go in as mayor is have a website where citizens can go on. Get their suggestions. Carry the meetings live on Faceback for the citizens who can’t make the meetings.”

He supports more activities for children, giving them the opportunity to be active so they may be less likely to hang out with the wrong crowd.

“I want the town to move more in a positive direction,” he said. “And build it back up where it should be. It’s just in a rut. It needs change.”

Hester

Sue Elkins Hester previously served two terms of office with the town Board of Commissioners.

Hester, who declined to give her age, is a Bladen County native. She’s retired after careers in the fields of insurance and real estate.

She said she’s pursuing the mayor’s position “because I was asked to by the people. I felt like I could contribute to the town. I have a past history of being able to make things happen. And I have awesome connections in politics, and I felt it was an opportunity for me to work for the town because it was in desperate need of help and needed some guidance.”

Hester said she was the most qualified candidate in the running.

“I have knowledge of the issues that are taking place now, more so than the other two. Because of connections I have in Raleigh, I definitely know more than the other two about what is going on in the town. Also because I’ve gone to school at the Institute of Government, and I have studied the rules and regulations and stuff.”

When it comes to town issues that are close to her heart, Hester said, the town has been neglected for so long that a number of issues have cropped up.

“Our sewer issue is a priority, but the word I got from the weekend is that that’s being taken care of,” she said.

She called a need for sidewalks an election issue.

“We need to get the people off the highways here with the sidewalks,” Hester said. “We need to get these buildings updated. We need to enforce the town’s ordinances that have never been enforced before. We’ve got streets that need some attention. We have some water lines and drainage that needs to be handled.”

According to Hester, her town was crippled because of what she believes was the neglect of anything being done to prepare for hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018. Bladenboro has since moved forward, she added, “But not to the degree that is needed. … It’s gotten better since the last hurricane, but we still have water issues if there’s a heavy rain or rain that goes on for a long time. Even here on Main Street. It’s gotten better but not to the degree that the problem is resolved.”

Hales

David William Hales Jr. is running for the job with a long background in public office, having served 28 years on the Bladenboro Board of Commissioners. That included stints as mayor pro tem. Also, as a commissioner, he held a seat for several years with the Lumber River Council of Government.

The 63-year-old Bladenboro native is employed as an assistant manager for the Pawn South store in Elizabethtown.

Several people, he said, asked him to run for mayor. He delayed throwing his name in the ring — waiting until the last day to file — since he said he wanted to see how many people were interested in filing.

“I think it’s time to get in there,” he said, “and I’ll give it 100 percent now becasue I don’t have any kids to chase around.”

Hales said he’s running for office because he loves the town and its people. He volunteered that he has “been involved in just about every civic organization that we’ve ever had here: Bladenboro Jaycees, the formerly named Bladenboro Merchants Association, Boost the ’Boro.”

He said, “It’s pushing in a forward direction, and the town of Bladenboro needs to push and make sure that we follow through, making this a town for our kids to grow up in and raise a family for the next 50 years. It would be real nice for them to work in the town that they live in.”

Economical growth is essential to the town, he said. Some type of industry is definitely needed to come into the Bladenboro Industrial Park. Basically, he added, Bladenboro needs to be ready when the time comes to court a business.

Hales cited the major economic project that is expected to culminate in the proposed Bladenboro Town Square as a campaign concern for him. He said he doesn’t want “to see the town drop the ball” on that project in the downtown area.

Like Todd, Hales favors making the town board more accessible to the public by way of social media.

He said he should win the election because of his experience and familiarity with town government for more than four decades. He also cited his longstanding work career as a store manager.

“I look forward to Nov. 2 getting here,” he said.