CHEERS! Election Day results include a liquor win in White Lake, Hales in Bladenboro, all incumbents in E’town

WHITE LAKE — By 2-to-1, voters in this residential resort community have endorsed liquor by the drink.

The referendum was among the most watched contests of the off-year election cycle where voters in Bladen County chose leadership in seven muncipalities. Voters were “for” the measure on 132 ballots, or 66 percent, and “against” on 68.

All results are unofficial until the canvass next week, but winners for mayor included David Hales in Bladenboro, Alex Hursey in Dublin and Sam Allen in Tar Heel.

Hales easily won a three-way race, claiming 59 percent of the vote against Joey Todd (24 percent) and Sue Elkins Hester (16 percent). Hursey and Allen were the only filers for the position in their towns.

Hales will succeed Rufus Duckworth when sworn in. Duckworth opted not to run for reelection. Hursey will succeed Darryl Dowless, who also chose not to run. Allen was an incumbent.

In Elizabethtown, the four Town Council winners are familiar. Rich Glenn Jr., who has been serving the term of his late father Dickie Glenn, was elected to serve the final two years of the term. In the race for four-year terms, incumbents Paula Greene (24 percent), Rufus Lloyd (24 percent) and Herman Lewis (23.7 percent) were each a few hundred votes ahead of Ilka Huntley McElveen (11 percent), Harfel Davis (8 percent) and William H. Moore (8 percent).

White Lake also reelected its three incumbent commissioners: Mike Suggs, Paul Evans and Tim Blount. Nobody else filed. The language of the referendum that passed is a measure “to permit the sale of mixed beverages in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, community theaters, and convention centers.”

In Bladenboro’s race for three commissioners seats, Jeff Atkinson (33 percent), Gregory Sykes (29 percent) and Blake Proctor (21 percent) were victorious. Lisa M. Levy, an incumbent, drew 14 percent of the vote. Atkinson and Sykes were also incumbents, and Atkinson — former town administrator for Bladenboro — was a first-time challenger.

Clarkton voters reelected Stephen Wayne Hester and Jerome Myers to commissioners seats. They were incumbents, the only two to file, and each got 25 votes.

The Dublin town commissioner race, for one seat, is undetermined until write-in votes are made known. Incumbent Jeffrey Smith was the only filer and got 11 votes; there were 21 write-ins.

Similarly, one of two commissioner seats in East Arcadia and two of three commissioner seats in Tar Heel will be made known with write-in votes unveiled. Incumbent Pamela Graham collected 44 votes in East Arcadia to win one seat, and there are 14 write-in votes. Steve Dowless got 17 votes for a commissioner seat in Tar Heel, and there are 23 write-in votes.

During the early one-stop voting, 509 votes were cast over 13 available days; new registrations numbered 12, and 23 people updated their registrations.

Canvass takes place on Tuesday of next week at 11 a.m. at the county Board of Elections office, 301 S. Cypress St. in Elizabethtown.