LELAND — Residents in Brunswick County’s largest municipality may soon be able to hold recall elections after Rep. Frank Iler introduced a bill to amend the town’s charter. Iler said Wednesday it’s in response to roughly 200 messages expressing dissatisfaction with town leadership.
Iler told Port City Daily he started receiving emails from residents requesting the bill — which would allow voters to remove the mayor and council members before the end of their terms — after the town proposed a 70% property tax increase in February.
After public pushback, the town council agreed to lower the hike to 17% in April, but many citizens remain opposed to the updated request, including the Better Government for Leland group. They’ve held a few rallies and bombarded council meetings as of late to speak against the increase; the budget will be voted on at the May 16 council meeting.
“Everybody’s upset about the budget, spending $20 million on the town hall — they thought there was excessive spending,” Iler said.
Mayor Brenda Bozeman’s next election is in 2027. Bozeman has served as mayor since 2011, and council voted to extend mayoral terms from two to four years in 2018. Council members serve staggered four-year terms in Leland. Bill McHugh and Richard Holloman are up for reelection in 2025, while Bob Campbell and Veronica Carter are up in 2027.
“The Town of Leland has not asked for this change to its charter,” Bozeman said in a statement to PCD. “We are aware that some individuals in the Town have asked their State representatives for this type of legislation. The request for the legislation seems rooted in misinformation and many misunderstandings. The Town Council looks forward to the opportunity to discuss this with Representative Iler.”
The bill must successfully move forward in two committee hearings — Local Government and Rules, Calendar, and Operations — before a House vote. Beyond passing the General Assembly, the charter amendment would need to pass a town referendum in November 2025.
Iler noted around 20 municipalities in North Carolina currently allow recall elections, such as Brunswick County’s Oak Island. He used other towns’ precedent to shape the recall process outlined in H.B. 1062, which he introduced Tuesday.
“I made it as convenient for everybody as I can,” he said.
Under the bill, a recall petition committee of five registered voters would file an affidavit with the Brunswick County Board of Elections director, citing an elected official and grounds for removal.
The committee would be responsible for circulating the recall petition and would need signatures from at least 25% of the town’s registered voters. Leland had 20,401 registered voters in 2021 and has a population of about 28,500, according to the 2022 U.S. Census.
The Brunswick Board of Elections would then investigate and verify the legitimacy of the signatures before submitting it to the town clerk, who would provide prompt notice to council. If the elected official in question doesn’t resign within five days of receiving the notice, council will set a date for a recall election within 60 to 90 days of petition certification.
Resident Rhonda Florian, one of the founders of Better Government for Leland, said the group is grateful to Iler for introducing the bill. However, she was disappointed the bill requires signatures of 25% of the town’s voters — over 5,000 — as they had requested 10%.
“That seems a bit onerous,” she said, citing low voter turnout in past municipal elections.
Bozeman was reelected in 2023 with 2,241 votes, while Carter and Campbell also won with around 2,000 votes.
At an April rally outside town hall, residents involved with Better Government for Leland raised the need for a recall election amendment, although it isn’t one of the group’s three core demands. Those include canceling the town hall expansion, preventing tax increases, and cutting municipal payroll, which they argue is excessive.
At the rally, resident Gary Ostby described the recall amendment as a means to address a symptom of a deeper problem.
“The root cause is catering to developers,” he told PCD.
Some of the residents in Better Government for Leland were previously active in a petition to prevent the town from building a baseball stadium, arguing it would raise taxes and prioritize developer profits before addressing pressing town needs, such as infrastructure. The town argued it would raise revenue to support the town, but sidelined the stadium proposal in January.
Iler said residents on both sides of the recall debate had reached out to him about the issue.
“Some people reached out and said, ‘Please do this,’” he said. “Others reached out and said, ‘You’re a dirty dog if you don’t do this.’ And I don’t respond well to that.”
Tips or comments? Email journalist Peter Castagno at peter@localdailymedia.com.
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