SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — The filing deadline for the 2025 municipal election wrapped on Friday, July 18, with almost 175 candidates seeking election in the tri-county region.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, with the voter registration deadline on Friday, Oct. 10. Early voting opens Thursday, Oct. 16 and closes Saturday, Nov. 1. The absentee ballot request deadline is Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Municipal races — meaning for mayor and town councils, commissioners or aldermen — are nonpartisan.

In Wilmington, the mayoral race is heating up with Bill Saffo — who has had an almost 20-year run as the defending incumbent — facing off against two candidates: former New Hanover County commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr. and former detective with Wilmington Police Department, as well as FBI employee, Billy Craig. Craig currently works as a private investigator, is a broker for Keller Williams and adjunct instructor at CFCC.

There are eight candidates for city council with incumbents Luke Waddell and Clifford Barnett also refiling; that leaves Charlie Rivenbark’s seat up for grabs, as Rivenbark did not refile. Other candidates include Richard M. Collier, Cassidy Santaguida, Chakema Clinton-Quintana, JC Lyle, Sean Guerrero and Kelly J. Roberts, Jr.

In Carolina Beach, Mayor Lynn Barbee will run against Youssef Hassan, with two new council member candidates, Vinco Losito and Wayne Rouse, not facing competition. Joe Benson and Mike Hoffer did not refile for their seats.

Next door at Kure Beach, Mayor Allen Oliver won’t face a challenger, while two council members, Dennis Panicali and John Ellen, will be leaving their seats. Three candidates, Byron Ashbridge, Tracy Mitchell and Mark Dirks, have filed.

Wrightsville Beach will have a new mayor with Ken Dull, as Darryl Mills is not seeking re-election; Dull, a current aldermen, will not face competition. Two seats are open on the aldermen board, including for incumbent Hank Miller. Miller filed for his candidacy and will face off against David Wortman, Lee Williams, Todd Schoen and Margaret E. Baggett.

In Brunswick County’s largest town, Leland, two council seats are up for grabs: Bill McHugh and Richard Holloman. Both are seeking re-election against Susan Waleed, Leland Hyer, Frank Pendleton and Edgar Robbins.

The Southport mayoral race will have a rematch from 2023, as current Mayor Rich Alt will go head-to-head again with former Mayor Joe Pat Hatem; Alt won by two votes in the last election. The aldermen in Southport also have two seats opening in ward 1 from incumbents Karen Mosteller and Robert Carroll. The candidate pool includes David Miller, Ted Blackburn and Mike Crosbie. 

Alderman ward 2 incumbent Frank Lai is not seeking re-election. The pool for ward 2 includes former Southport finance director Bonnie L. Bray, Paul Gross, Nelson E. Adams, David Geary and Katie Boyd.

Navassa will also have a new mayor, as Eulis Willis is not running again. Jerry L. Merrick, who served as a Navassa councilman before, is running against Ernest (Big Mo) Mooring, Jr. and Rose Terry.

In Pender County’s beach town of Surf City, both Hugh A. Cannady and Jeremy Shugarts are hoping to secure seats against Jillian Rodrigues de Miranda, Daniel Blevins and Andreas (Andy) Pleil.

Next door in Topsail Beach, Frank Braxton is listed as the only mayoral candidate. Braxton was sworn in earlier this spring, following the death of Morton Blanchard. It was the second death of a Topsail Beach mayor in six months, following Steve Smith last year, who Blanchard was appointed to take over from. 

Also Topsail Beach council members Nancy Kerr Thomason, John Best and Tim Zizack have seats opening; all are seeking re-election and will run against challenger Alex Arab.

Below is the filing list for every candidate in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY

Carolina Beach

Mayor
Lynn Barbee
Youssef Hassan

Council
Vince Losito
Wayne Rouse

Kure Beach

Mayor
Allen Oliver

Commissioners
Byron Ashbridge
Tracy Mitchell
Mark Dirks

Wilmington

Mayor
Bill Saffo
Jonathan Barfield, Jr.
Billy Craig

Council
Luke Waddell
Clifford D. Barnett
Richard M. Collier
Cassidy Santaguida
Chakema Clinton-Quintana
JC Lyle
Sean Guerrero
Kelly J. Roberts, Jr.

Wrightsville Beach

Mayor
McKinley (Ken) Dull

Aldermen
Hank Miller
David Wortman
Lee Williams
Todd Schoen
Margaret E. Baggett

BRUNSWICK COUNTY

Bald Head Island

Mayor
Peter C. Quinn
Scott Thomas

Council
Slaughter Fitz-Hugh
Thomas J. Antalik
Jesse Hermann
Andrew R. Hano, Sr
John L. Fisher
Debra Drumheller

Belville

Mayor
Mike Allen
Nia Moore

Commissioner
Hunter Smith III
Ryan E. Merrill

Boiling Springs Lakes

Mayor
Jeff Winecoff
Michael T. Ellis

Commissioner
Ernie Siriani
Todd Ausborn
Kim Sherwood
David Mammay

Bolivia

Mayor
Nancy B. Cook

Aldermen
Dewey Smith
Hannah Hrvol
Jonathan Hayes
Melissa Kay Walters

Calabash

Commissioner
Frank J. Strungis
Bill Wilharm
Shaun Bellamy

Carolina Shores

Mayor
Dan Conte

Commissioner
Debbie Watts
Andrew Davis
Jack Brinson
Walter Goodenough

Caswell Beach

Commissioner
Kathleen Berry
Connie Silverstein
Thomas L. Jarvis
Martha (Marty) Dollinger
Jacqueline Power

Holden Beach

Mayor
Mike Felmly
J. Alan Holden

Commissioner
Robert E. Brown
Sylvia Pate
Keith Smith
Maria Surprise
Chad Hock

Leland

Council 
Leland Hyer
Bill McHugh
Susan Waleed
Richard Holloman
Frank Pendleton
Edgar Robbins

Navassa

Mayor
Jerry L. Merrick
Ernest (Big Mo) Mooring, Jr.
Rose Terry

Commissioner District 1
Ida White Dixon
Craig Suggs
Tony Burgess
Wanda Jones Willis
Marcell Hatten

Northwest

Mayor
James A. Knox
Sheila Grady

Council District 1
Veronica Edge

Council District 2
Alexis Grainger Clemmons

Council District 4
Chip Carroll

Oak Island

Mayor
Douglas James DeArros
Liz White
Christopher Brown

Council 
Chasey Bynum
Chip Frazier
Reece Simmons
Scott Stephenson
Kerri McCullough
Tommy Brown

Ocean Isle Beach

Mayor
Debbie Smith

Commissioner
Wayne Rowell
Polly Bristow
Mark Robertson

Sandy Creek

Mayor
Mel Miller

Council
Austin Lentz
Johnna Dodrill
Rebecca Wilkins (unexpired)

Shallotte

Mayor
Art Dornfeld
Walter Eccard

Aldermen
Eugene (Gene) Vasile
James (Jimmy) Bellamy

Southport

Mayor
Joe Pat Hatem
Rich Alt

Aldermen Ward 1
David Miller
Ted Blackburn
Karen Mosteller
Mike Crosbie
Robert Carroll

Aldermen Ward 2
Bonnie L. Bray
Paul Gross
Nelson E. Adams
David Geary
Katie Boyd

St. James

Council
Jim Board
Ray R. Irvin
Peter Cudlip
Jeffery Lewis
Dennis Barclay
Bill A. Miller

Sunset Beach

Mayor
Shannon (Hot Dog) Phillips
Nicholas Peters

Council
Sean Arnold
Katie Bordeaux
Gerard (Gerry) Byrnes
William Brougham
Richard Dysinger
Jim Memory
Michael Hargreaves (unexpired)
Christie Hodges Batchelor (unexpired)

Varnamtown

Mayor
Gary R. Galloway, Jr.

Aldermen
Lori Galloway
Jeremy R. Ridenhour

Brunswick Water and Sewer H2GO 

Commissioner District 2
John K. Clark

Commissioner District 3
John Pascoe

Commissioner District 4
Ronnie Jenkins

Brunswick Dosher Hospital Board of Trustees

Robert Howard
Debbie Wood
Jwantana Gardner Frink
Andrew Boyd

Southeast Brunswick Sanitary District Commissioner

Bill Hurcomb
Bob Jarvis
Bob Lloyd
Scott Monticelli (unexpired)

PENDER COUNTY

Atkinson

Commissioner
Penny Stith
Hector (Ray) Ramos

Burgaw

Mayor
Olivia Dawson

Commissioner
Myra McDuffie
James Raymond Malloy

St. Helena

Mayor
Robert M. Barnhill

Council
Neil Benton
Judith (Judy) Katalinic
Shirley Jacobs (unexpired)

Surf City

Council
Hugh A. Cannady
Jillian Rodrigues de Miranda
Jeremy Shugarts
Daniel Blevins
Andreas (Andy) Pleil

Topsail Beach

Mayor
Frank Braxton (unexpired)

Commissioner
Nancy Kerr Thomason
Alex Arab
Tim Zizack
John Best

Watha

Mayor
Needham C. Hall

Commissioner
Joseph Craig
Samuel Miller

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