OAK ISLAND — In Oak Island, a change in color doesn’t mean a change in tone. As Mayor Elect Christopher Brown prepares to succeed Mayor Liz White on Tuesday evening, both anticipate an amicable partnership moving forward.
White was first elected in 2021, winning her race with 2,059 votes over then-incumbent Ken Thomas, elected in 2019. An introvert, White’s friends encouraged her to run, after watching her as an impassioned Oak Island resident speaking up at meetings for years.
READ MORE: ‘We overachieved’: Oak Island boasts parking revenue increase
White first moved to Oak Island in February 2018, prompted by two-week fishing vacations with friends. In 2017, she made the decision to make a permanent move.
“There’s a visceral feeling that I have for Oak Island,” White said. “I fully feel as though I’m home.”
During her first meetings as mayor in 2022, part of White’s effort was to tackle transparency, particularly with residents not feeling heard. She held several public comment periods, addressing updates to the land code regarding conditional zoning requests and creating a “waiver exception” policy so vulnerable and aid-based members of the public didn’t have to pay to set up events at the recreation center, often rented for community gatherings. White also became more involved with the Environmental Advisory Committee to address erosion and the threatened Oak Island coastline. Among her most recent achievements was co-leading the “Banding Together for Western Carolina” support group that was founded after Hurricane Helene devastated the state; it yielded over 6,000 pounds of food and supplies and raised $30,000 to go to Spruce Pine, a town ravaged by the storm.
None of her triumphs, she added, were accomplished alone, but rather “as a result of a team effort.”
“It’s through relationships that I was able to accomplish what I did,” White said.
Running another campaign this year was far easier than the first time around, she said, noting now she had all the campaign and election processes down. Her campaign strategy was to be authentic, something she learned after receiving advice from different friends and community members about how and what to campaign on.
While White focused on economic and strategic growth alongside building better relationships and transparency with Oak Island residents, Brown focused on communication and diversifying the town’s economy and revenue streams.
The 2025 mayoral race was close, with Brown receiving 1,551 votes, or 49.7%, and White gathering 1,493 votes, or 47.84%. Both candidates called it a friendly competition; White said she didn’t consider Brown an opponent.
“He’s a great guy. He’s very qualified,” White said. “Early on, we shook hands and agreed that, regardless of the outcome, we would work together.”
She called the proposed partnership “precedent setting,” as politics is becoming more divisive all-around nationwide. Though municipal races are traditionally non-partisan.
Brown spent his career working as a teacher, middle school principal, superintendent and federal liaison, and moved to Oak Island three-and-a-half years ago. However, his family has been visiting Oak Island for 23 years. He said all of the “hats” he donned before allowed him to be active and helpful in his former home states of New York and Florida. Despite retiring, Brown didn’t want to become an idle resident of Oak Island.
He doubled down on his desire to keep in touch with White during his mayoral term, especially as it relates to incoming projects started during White’s tenure. In particular, he expressed an interest in having her help with the Coastwise project, set to begin in the spring, and keeping White in the loop on plans approved during her term.
Coastwise is a three-year partnership with the University of North Carolina Wilmington to help stabilize erosion on Oak Island’s shoreline. It entails the installation of a living shoreline, a natural barrier created using native plants, sediment, and the like. Oak Island allotted $30,000 in its FY 2025-2026 budget and is expected to be approved for similar funding for the remaining two years.
White hailed it as one of her best achievements, though she wished she could have gotten it off the ground sooner. Aside from the fact erosion has battered Oak Island’s shorelines, a large portion of the island’s revenue comes from tourism and accommodations taxes. Drawing in more visitors with more sustained shorelines would be beneficial.
“If we do this right, there might be an opportunity to expand what little ecotourism that we currently have,” White said.
Brown told Port City Daily one of his biggest concerns going into his campaign and now into his mayoral term is communication — between council and its constituents, primarily.
He believes “The Current,” Oak Island government’s weekly newsletter, is underutilized. Brown wants to publish more and wants the breakdown of town council decisions and government happenings to be more thorough and clarifying.
Brown said while campaigning he also took notice of resident confusion and unrest over the changing town codes and right-of-ways. A recent change, for example, happened in July 2025, when the town council held a special workshop and voted unanimously to amend the town’s ordinance on obstructions in right-of-ways, which placed upkeep and maintenance into the property owner’s jurisdiction.
While Brown didn’t have an issue with the ordinance itself, he had a problem with how it was communicated. He did not believe there was a basic understanding of why the changes were made and what it would really mean for the town and its residents, after hearing from some constituents.
Once Brown’s term begins — and in the vein of transparency — he wants to host open forums for Oak Island residents to ask questions and provide comments on government decisions, programs, and plans: “Give people an opportunity to come and speak with myself, with the different departments.”
Communication between council and residents isn’t the only disconnect Brown has witnessed. In his view, synergy between council members also is off.
“They were having a very difficult time even having productive conversations,” Brown said. “And you actually have council members that don’t speak to one another.”
Brown has spoken to each sitting and incoming council member — of which two newbies, Chasey Bynum and Tommy Brown, will be sworn in Tuesday as well, taking over from Mayor Pro Tem John Bach and council member Mark Martin, both of whom didn’t seek re-election. The mayor elect plans to get current sitting council members in a room together to discuss what Oak Island needs and how to get there together.
One area Brown and White agree on is something they believe Oak Island needs to focus on: commercial development.
“We rely heavily on property tax and accommodations tax that we get from visitors,” White explained.
In the FY 2025-2026 budget ordinance, property taxes were more than $11 million.
White said Oak Island needs to diversify its economy. According to the budget ordinance, ad valorem, often used to refer to property taxes, made up a third of the overall revenue stream, followed by appropriated funds at 21% and sales and use tax at 15%.
To that end, among her crowning achievements, was the 2025 debut of Oak Island’s baseball team, the Loggerheads. The town and the team have a public-private partnership.
“I look at it as respiratory therapy, cheering them on,” White joked.
The team is owned by the Allreds, with Alec Allred, a former baseball player with the Old North State League, though town council had to approve ordinance changes to allow the team to operate in Oak Island and in Bill Smith Park. The name of the team was also decided among Oak island residents with an open forum from the owners. In their inaugural season, the Loggerheads were also the Old North State League (ONSL) Coastal Division champions. White said the team generated around $2 million of income for the town by bringing in more business and creating jobs.
Brown agreed Oak Island’s revenue streams need to be varied. He pointed to areas outside of the town and along Long Beach Road and Middleton, by NC-211 and NC-906, potentially to be used for commercial development and real estate.
“There are opportunities in different areas to bring in more things like the Lowe’s grocery store that don’t have a direct impact on the quality of life on Oak Island proper, where most people live, but can bring in revenue,” he explained.
Doing so, he added, would allow Oak Island to keep tax rates as they are, instead of increasing the rate. The current tax rate of Oak Island is 20 cents per $100 value, which is up from 16 cents in 2024.
Part of considering Oak Island’s financial future is also examining the replacement or upgrades to the water retention and sewer systems. Split into east and west, the water and utilities systems were built in 1970 and 1967 respectively.
“The infrastructure is underground, so people don’t think about it,” White said, “but it’s eroding and needs attention.”
Currently, Oak Island has a three-year strategic plan, which includes capital improvement, headed by its new town manager, Kathryn Adams, whose hiring was another achievement that White placed under her belt.
“We were able to hire a very capable town manager that has experience all the way up to the state level,” she said.
Brown lauded Adams’ work and commented the first part of the water infrastructure he wanted to upgrade and improve was the stormwater retention program, to mitigate flooding.
While White is planning to help out her community and Brown wherever she can, she wants to return to the roots that first brought her to Oak Island to begin with — fishing. She also plans to take up some artistic projects, including quilting and watercolors.
“It’s time to enjoy this beautiful setting that I have,” she said.
Brown will be sworn in as mayor, along with council members Bynum and Brown, at the Oak Island meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Have tips or suggestions for Emily Sawaked? Email emily@localdailymedia.com
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
