BRUNSWICK COUNTY — While much of the nation turned blue from Tuesday’s midterm elections this week, one traditionally red county maintained the status quo. Still, Brunswick County will have a new commissioner and school board member to join its local boards come December.
Two seats were open on both the board of commissioners and board of education, with two Republicans securing the wins in Brunswick County. Sitting commissioner Randy Thompson was re-elected to his District 1 seat by 13.18% of the vote against Democrat Gary Woods. Republican Patti Hewett is expected to succeed current Vice Chair Marty Cooke for District 2, with 13.84% of the vote against Democratic challenger Sara Singer.
Thompson said he will continue to tackle overdevelopment by pushing to improve local infrastructure before any new developments are approved and making developers pay for growth. Thompson would like for Brunswick County to charge the maximum amount to developers for sewer and water system fees, as permitted by the state. Counties can levy developers 75% of the estimated future cost to improve infrastructure to meet growth needs. Brunswick only makes developers pay 90% of the 75%.
READ MORE: Election 2026 Results: Brunswick County gains new commissioner, school board member
ALSO: Brunswick commissioner calls for planning board chair to step down again, motion fails
“To be quite honest with you, I’m to the point where new development needs to pay for all costs associated with new infrastructure,” Thompson said. “They need to be paying for 100% of the infrastructure costs instead of 75%.”
Growth in the county has brought public criticism over a lack of infrastructure improvements and county services matching the booming population and incoming large-scale residential developments. Brunswick County has had nearly 60,000 units incoming since 2016 and has grown 24% between 2020 and 2024, according to the Office of State Budget and Management.
In addition to being the fastest growing in the state, Brunswick County is the sixth fastest growing in the country. The current population estimate from the 2025 U.S. Census is 174,702, compared to 136,695 in 2020.
Many community members have expressed worries about flooding, sewer and water utilities and traffic congestion, and the preservation of wetlands and greenspace.
The commissioner wants to make further strides in increasing water utility capacity so the county can service all current and future county residents.
Brunswick County hit its sewer capacity at the start of 2026 and was issued a permitting freeze by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The freeze followed a 2023 state law that suggested municipalities may only allocate sewer hookups upt to 110% capacity, but if the county is fast growing, it can max out at 115%. However, the law also stated that municipalities had to factor in incomplete developments that were promised sewer connections. This made the county’s allocations skyrocket, leading to the freeze.
Thompson wants to see the county’s ongoing and future expansions be prioritized in budget cycles and commissioner meetings, along with other infrastructure needs.
Thompson has been a vocal member of the commissioner board about slowing development, calling for a moratorium, which has not gained traction with his colleagues, and trying to freeze applications and development proposals until the county’s sewer capacity could catch up. However, under G.S. 160D-107, this would constitute a moratorium, but a moratorium is only permitted if there is an imminent and substantial threat to public health or safety.
Thompson has also asked for the ability to deny developments based on what county resources are available instead of an applicant’s adherence to the county unified development ordinance, last adopted in 2015. However, the county’s attempts to do so in the past have resulted in lawsuits filed by developers, who argued their project was allowable by-right and per the UDO. This occurred with the Green Hill Development, which was denied due to roadway, flooding and other concerns. Developers sued the county in May 2026 and the case will be heard by the Brunswick County Superior Court on Nov. 9.
Thompson suggested the county’s approach to its growth has impacted this year’s election. He pointed to not winning in all of the county’s 27 precincts this election cycle, as he did last time; Thompson lost in six precincts in the northeastern part of the county in 2026. The precincts were primarily in Leland and its immediate neighbors Navassa and Belville, which are located outside Thompson’s district but have been affected by development. The county most recently approved South Cape, located near Leland’s town limits, though the area has been subject to several development approvals in recent years. According to the Office of State Budget and Management, Leland and Belville have been ranked among the fastest growing towns in the country and state.
Thompson has been on the board for more than 11 years; he told Port City Daily this will be his last term.
“To be quite honest with you, I had considered not running this time,” he said. “But there was not a good candidate that I trusted that would put Brunswick County first, so that’s why I chose to run. That’s why those within my own party encouraged a candidate to run against me in the primary.”
However, the commissioner expressed enthusiasm about working with a new board member. Hewett did not respond to Port City Daily’s numerous attempts to contact her about her goals and hopes for the new position.
“If I follow her campaign proposals and her desires she mentioned in her platform, I see a positive change and a positive working relationship,” he said.
Hewett has stated in her response to Port City Daily’s candidate questionnaire that she will support responsible and well-planned growth, ensuring safer roads, improving water and sewer services, emergency services and environmental protection. Like Thompson, she also expressed a desire for the county to be allowed to downzone; the state banned it in 2024 through the passage of S.B. 382.
“I see us moving from a — should I say — pro development, out-of-control development, board to a more centered board that is looking for smart growth,” Thompson said of Brunswick County.
With another law on the books this year, in the passage of H.B. 1222, commissioners will have more control; the planning board became a recommending board only with commissioners approving and denying all developments, starting with applications submitted after July 2, 2026. Thompson supported the state legislature giving over the authority because he believed elected officials should have a say over development and be held accountable for the direction of growth.
The planning board still has a few more developments to approve, rather than recommend to commissioners to finish up all applications submitted before the July 2 deadline. Thompson has taken issue with the planning board’s approvals and his own district’s appointment this year.
Just this week, he made a motion to unseat the planning board Chair Clif Cheek, due to the board’s approval of the 829-unit South Cape development, despite the county planning staff recommending denial. But the motion failed 3-2, with only commissioner Pat Sykes in support. It’s the second time this year he’s asked for Cheek’s removal.
Thompson believes the county’s constituents are also more divided now across party lines, which has increased a desire for change. In Brunswick County as of Sept. 2026, there are 28,219 Democrats, 61,611 Republicans and 60,663 unaffiliated registered voters. In the same month in 2024, the county had 27,960 Democrats, 56,283 Republicans and 53,663 unaffiliated voters.
Despite being a Republican, Thompson vowed to represent everyone regardless of party affiliation.
“My position wasn’t as clear as it should have been that I am bipartisan and I am willing to work for everybody,” he said about his campaign.
Thompson added his stance on development is what made him unpopular among some of his own party members and a minority on the board of commissioners. However, he said he’s eager for the shake-up in Raleigh.
It won’t affect Brunswick County’s state legislators, as voters put back into office Rep. Frank Iler (R-Brunswick), Rep. Charlie Miller (R-Brunswick, New Hanover) and Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick, New Hanover). However, at the state level the House is a Democratic majority for the first time in 16 years, and the Republicans in the Senate have thus far lost their supermajority, though some races have yet to be decided.
“I think Raleigh received a wakeup call yesterday,” Thompson said on Wednesday. “So I think it’s time for our representatives to be working closely with county initiatives, and those initiatives are not uncontrolled overdevelopment.”
Thompson hopes to see more legislation passed to give the county the ability to charge impact fees for schools and parks — which is currently prohibited under state law but legislation can award the county special permission to instate them — and to have control over open burning. Only the state may issue a countywide burn ban, which commissioners have found troublesome in times of wildfires, droughts and water shortages.
Brunswick County Board of Education
The school board race had two seats up for grabs this year. Republican Chair Steve Gainey beat out Democrat Brian Rupp by 13.82% in District 5 and Republican Paige Morgan will join Gainey, succeeding Robin Moffitt of District 3. Morgan won by 13.96% against Democrat Susanne Duncan.
Morgan, a former educator, said her first plan of action, once sworn onto the board in December, is to meet with local teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders to ask what their biggest concerns are.
She said she’s noticed a disconnect between the board and schools, both as a teacher and a parent, and believes that meeting with teachers shows someone is listening and not making decisions for them without their input.
She explained to Port City Daily this was her approach to improving teacher retention.
“I know that teachers and school staff are our largest asset. We should be using this asset to help Brunswick County Schools grow and flourish,” Morgan said, adding she’d be asking for opinions from school staff related to board decisions. “When you work to create an environment where educational staff feel valued and respected, the return are teachers and staff members who want to work for Brunswick County Schools.”
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the attrition rate in the county is 14.32%, up from its previous number of 10% during the 2023-2024 school year. During the 2024-2025 school year, 125 teachers left the district.
Gainey said hiring and retaining veteran teachers with a proven track record is important as he enters into his next term as a school board member. He has served on the board for four years and boasted Brunswick County Schools is a top North Carolina district for recruiting experienced teachers; however the state does not keep a record of teacher attrition by years of experience for each county. Instead, NCDPI measures the rate experienced teachers are retained across the state; teachers with eight to 27 years of experience had a lower attrition rate than beginning teachers and those with more than 35 years of experience.
Gainey added the district was also interested in retraining teachers to improve student growth, though this directive was already given.
“The board has charged Superintendent [Dale] Cole with developing a more focused emphasis on reducing the number of instructional staff who have failed to meet their student growth goals, two of the last three years,” Gainey explained to Port City Daily, noting this would help continue improving student scores.
He called the goal to reduce the number of teachers who are not meeting student improvement goals “aggressive” but added the district was “well-positioned” in its plan to replace staff not meeting county goals and standards. Only about 11% of county teachers were noted as needing improvement, based on NCDPI’s annual report using 2024-2025 data.
Both Morgan and Gainey said they wanted to continue the county’s upward trend in school performance.
Using 2025-2026 data, only Supply Elementary and South Brunswick Middle were both listed as low-performing schools, an improvement from the previous year, which listed five low-performing schools. Of the county’s 20 schools, 14 met or exceeded the district’s expected growth, and seven schools improved by a letter grade this year.
Morgan wrote in her Port City Daily questionnaire she wanted to examine needed resources in order to improve the scores on the remaining two low-performing schools.
“Where are students struggling? Are there staffing or attendance issues? Do teachers have the resources and support they need? What strategies are working in similar Brunswick County schools that could be replicated?” she wrote.
When Port City Daily asked Morgan what policies she’d like to change first upon stepping into her role, she explained it wasn’t that simple.
“Though there are policies I would like to see changed, being a board member does not mean that I can go in with a list of changes and make them happen,” she said. “Having the opportunity to be a board member means that I am able to work with current members of the board, who all have different strengths, and use my experience as a classroom teacher and a parent to help create or change policies for the betterment of our students and staff.”
As for curriculum, in Port City Daily’s questionnaire, Morgan expressed wanting to examine policy 3120, which establishes lesson-planning requirements. The policy maintains that teachers’ daily lesson plans must be documented and reviewed by the school principal. There is no set schedule, so teachers must have lesson plans available and accessible daily. While important for accountability, Morgan suggested it can be restrictive.
“Having spent 10 years in the classroom, I know that effective teaching is flexible,” Morgan said in the questionnaire. “A lesson may need to change from one class period to the next based on student understanding. Detailed paperwork does not necessarily tell us whether meaningful learning is taking place.”
Morgan later told Port City Daily she’d like to further discuss the curriculum with teachers, especially following the state’s recent amendments to the high school math curriculum. The shift, passed this year, included making Math 3 and 4 no longer mandatory for graduation and integrating real-world applications to Math 1 and 2. The new curriculum also created several math elective courses that students can choose from: applied statistics and data science, mathematical and statistical modeling, applied logic and reasoning, AP classes, college-level math courses and math-based career and technical education options.
Gainey did not list policy changes or initiatives he’d like to pursue in his new term to Port City Daily
Also, Brunswick County Schools also will receive $350 million in bonds for eight projects, including new schools, land acquisition for teacher housing, fields and field houses for schools and others. This passed with 54.95% of the vote in the midterms. It includes the construction of two new schools off U.S. 17 and in the northern part of the county, which are both slated to begin construction in 2029. This will address overcrowding from rapid growth in the county.
According to BCS, it saves the district $2.5 million in the long run since alternative methods of payment, should the bond have failed, carry higher interest rates.
The new schools will require redistricting of students in the Jackey’s Creek and Leland area and the U.S. 17 corridor, which requires a draft map drawn by a consultant, public feedback and a vote. While Morgan deferred to her school board colleagues about redistricting efforts to accommodate the facilities, Gainey said the matter would most likely be taken up by the board in fall 2028.
“We will gather input from staff, the community and our demographic consultant and weigh the ideas and recommendations from those sources against the practical realities around transportation efficiency, and the goal of balancing the demographic profiles of our student populations in our respective schools.”
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