Politics

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NEWS 11/5/25 1:47pm

El Concejo Municipal de Burlington nombra a un nuevo administrador de la ciudad

By Alannah Klingsporn

El Ayuntamiento de Burlington nombró a Bob Patterson como nuevo administrador municipal, tras la jubilación del anterior administrador, Craig Honeycutt. Según la página web del Ayuntamiento de Burlington, el puesto de administrador municipal es de designación y supervisa las operaciones diarias de la ciudad y todos los departamentos municipales, implementa las políticas del Ayuntamiento y mantiene a este informado sobre las finanzas y los asuntos de la ciudad. "Nuestros objetivos a corto plazo son mantener la plantilla, salarios competitivos, garantizar que contamos con empleados cualificados para seguir ofreciendo un excelente servicio a nuestros ciudadanos en todos los departamentos y, además, proporcionar el mejor uso posible de sus impuestos", declaró Patterson.

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NEWS 11/5/25 1:42pm

Burlington City Council appoints new city manager

By Alannah Klingsporn

Burlington City Council appointed Bob Patterson as the new city manager, as former City Manager Craig Honeycutt retired. The Burlington City Manager is an appointed position that oversees daily city operations and all municipal departments, implements council policies, and keeps the council informed on the city’s finances and affairs, according to the City of Burlington’s website. “Near-term goals are to maintain our staffing levels, competitive wages, make sure we have good quality employees to provide that continued excellent service to our citizens across all of our departments, and also provide the best value for our citizens’ tax dollars,” Patterson said.

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NEWS 11/5/25 12:20am

Alamance County Democratic Party hosts watch party on Election Day

By Trista Panagakos

As polls closed at 7:30 p.m. on election day, candidates, supporters and family members gathered at the Alamance County Democratic Party watch party awaiting results of the 2025 municipal election. Supporters filled Alkimia Mexican Bar and Grill in downtown Burlington to wait for the results to come in. Burlington mayoral candidate Beth Kennett had supporters and family members join her with many wearing sweatshirts and t-shirts from her campaign. “We’ve done all the things, shown up at places in the community,” Kennett said. “If hard work wins an election, we got this, if money, the influence of money wins, we’ve done the work.”

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:47pm

Gibsonville Board of Aldermen member elected as mayor

By Miles Hayford

Bryant Crisp, Gibsonville board of aldermen member, has been elected as mayor of Gibsonville, with 599 votes. The other mayoral candidate, Darian Smith, only received 94 votes, which is fewer than the write-in candidates. Crisp said that it was a tough race but that he was happy with the result. “I believe in doing it the right way, just hard work, hitting every neighborhood, knocking on every door, and we were successful,” Crisp said. “I’m ecstatic right now and just happy to get back to work.”

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:44pm

Burlington elects first female mayor

By Miles Hayford

Newcomer Beth Kennett has won her bid for election in the Burlington mayoral race becoming the first female mayor of Burlington. She earned 4,237 votes, compared to Ronnie Wall’s 3,640. Former Burlington Mayor Ian Baltutis was one of two candidates elected to city council, earning 4,099 votes. Former chief of police in Burlington Jeffery Smythe was also elected with 3,687 votes. Incumbent Harold Owen received the least amount of votes among the four candidates.

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:22pm

Haw River town council candidates elected unopposed

By Miles Hayford

Incumbent Shawn Riggan will rejoin the Haw River Town Council along with newcomer Debbie Brown, who was also elected to the council on Nov. 4. Brown won 57.75% of the vote and Riggan trailed with 41.55% of the vote. Riggan and Brown did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment. 

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:16pm

Three incumbents rejoin Mebane Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Incumbents Montreena Hadley, Tim Bradley and Jonathan White will rejoin the Mebane Town Council following municipal elections on Nov. 4. Hadley received the most votes with 33.27% to reclaim her seat on the council. Hadley said she is looking forward to the next four years. “Continuing the work that I've started with the community, and making my community proud of me, making sure that the citizens of Mebane and all citizens of Mebane have a voice,” Hadley said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:55pm

Ossipee Town Council incumbents reelected

By Nia Bedard and Miles Hayford

Incumbents Jim McAdams and Richard Overman were reelected to Ossipee Town Council on Nov. 4. Overman received 14 votes and McAdams won 16 votes. Overman did not respond to Elon News Network’s request for comment. McAdams declined Elon News Network’s request for comment. 

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:40pm

Two incumbents rejoin Green Level Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Following municipal elections on Nov. 4, incumbents Patricia Jones and Jose McBroom will rejoin the Green Level Town Council. Jones received 33.61% of the votes to re-secure her seat, while McBroom received 29.51% to re-secure his.  Newcomers Lesley Sanders-Carter and Theodore Howard fell more than 10% short of securing a seat. Jones said she is excited for her next term. “I'm looking forward to the next four years of love, spreading more love around our town, more growth, and trying to bring new business to the town of Green Level,” Jones said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:18pm

Newcomer candidate wins over 56% of vote in Graham mayoral race

By Miles Hayford

Newcomer Chelsea Dickey defeated incumbent Jennifer Talley in Graham’s mayoral race, winning 56.77% of the vote. Dickey’s campaign manager Hadden LaGarde said Dickey is happy about the results and ready to get the ground running in a statement to Elon News Network. “We were cautiously optimistic during early voting and cautiously optimistic today,” LaGarde said. She said people should expect a statement from Dickey on Nov. 5. Incumbent Bobby Chin was reelected to his seat on the city council, along with newcomer Jim Young. Young won 25.68% of the vote and Chin won 26.92%.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:08pm

Newcomer candidate secures most votes in Swepsonville Town Council election

By Nia Bedard

Following the Nov. 4 municipal elections, Lee Walls, John Andrews and Henry Carrouth will fill the open seats on the Swepsonville Town Council. First-time candidate Lee Walls secured 27.47% of the vote, the most out of any candidate for the Swepsonville race. Incumbent John Andrews followed close behind with 26.74% of the vote and former mayor Henry Carrouth received 25.64%. “There were some things that we had started on the council and that I really wanted to have an opportunity to be a part of finishing up,” Carrouth said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 9:53pm

Newcomer secures most votes in Elon Town Council race

By Miles Hayford

Current Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe won her unopposed bid for reelection, winning 98.18% of the vote. Newcomer Steve Exum and incumbent Randy Orwig were elected to the town council. Exum received the most votes out of the three town council candidates, receiving 39.81% of the vote. One of Exum’s main focuses of his candidacy was increasing the town’s usage of sustainable practices, including more solar panels and electric vehicles. Orwig said that he was glad to hear the news of his win. “I’m happy I can continue the work that we’ve been doing,” Orwig said. “I feel good about that.” 

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NEWS 11/4/25 9:40pm

Village of Alamance Board of Aldermen incumbent secures win by four votes

By Miles Hayford

Incumbent Don Tichy has been reelected as mayor of the Village of Alamance following municipal elections on Nov. 4. Tichy received 54.98% of the vote to secure reelection. He ran unopposed but write-in candidates secured 45.02% of the vote. Incumbents Gayle Andrews and Dale Hunt, along with newcomer Ken Cass, were elected to the board of aldermen. Hunt won by four vote with a total of 137 votes, compared to incumbent Philip Cheap’s 133 votes.

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NEWS 11/4/25 8:46am

Election Day 2025: municipal elections in Elon and across Alamance County

By Elon News Network

Polls across Alamance County opened at 6:30 a.m. Nov. 4 for municipal elections. Ten elections will be held in Alamance County for mayoral, city council and aldermen positions, across Elon, Burlington, Gibsonville, Graham, Green Level, Haw River, Mebane, Ossipee, Swepsonville and the Village of Alamance. Forty-two candidates are running for positions across the county, with 27 positions up for grabs. Early voting for municipal elections kicked off on Oct. 16 with 3,251 ballots turned in between Oct. 16 and Nov. 1. Polls will be opened until 7:30 p.m.

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NEWS 10/28/25 10:47am

El condado de Alamance se prepara para las elecciones municipales

By Elon News Network

Candidatos de Elon, Graham, Mebane, Burlington, Green Level, Swepsonville, la localidad de Alamance y Gibsonville se preparan para las elecciones a alcalde, concejal y concejal. El día de las elecciones municipales del condado de Alamance será el 4 de noviembre. Los centros de votación estarán abiertos de 6:30 a. m. a 7:30 p. m. La votación anticipada presencial será el 16 de octubre en la oficina de la Junta Electoral del condado de Alamance. La votación anticipada presencial finaliza el 1 de noviembre a las 3 p. m.

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NEWS 10/27/25 9:44pm

Town council approves historic purchase to relocate Elon town hall and Elon Police Department

By John McAllister

Members of town council went into a closed session to discuss the acquisition of the Labcorp property on 112 Orange Drive. The purpose of the purchase is to move Elon Town Hall, the Elon Police Department and provide extra space for events, according to council member Monti Allison. Town Manager Richard Roedner and the council agreed to purchase the land and buildings for $3 million. Council member Randy Orwig emphasized the importance of the purchase. “This is probably one of the biggest things this town has done in a long time,” Orwig said.

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NEWS 10/21/25 10:27pm

Elon town council candidates discuss policies, answer residents’ questions at candidate forum

By Miles Hayford

As the Nov. 4 Alamance County municipal elections inch closer, candidates for the two open seats on the Elon Town Council answered residents’ questions, talked about their stances on key issues and discussed their backgrounds during a candidate forum hosted by Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe on Oct. 21 at The Oak House. The candidates for town council are current town council member and pastor at Elon Community Church Randy Orwig, Steve Exum and Michael Ratigan. Sharpe began the forum by asking each candidate to tell the crowd of about 30 residents about their background.

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NEWS 10/20/25 8:33am

Burlington Fire Department intends to expand amid city’s growth

By Miles Hayford

Amid the city of Burlington growing by about 8% from 2010 to 2020, the Burlington Fire Department is aiming to build more fire stations. The department currently has six fire stations with 11 response units and Lawrence said adding more fire stations across the city in strategic locations will help because their response time is directly correlated to where their fire stations are located. “We want to make sure that our response time is what it needs to be,” Honeycutt said. “We need to make sure that the stations are in the right location, and we're given equitable service across the city.“

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NEWS 10/16/25 4:36pm

Elon University Poll finds 39% of North Carolinians approve of President Donald Trump

By Nia Bedard

The Elon University Poll published its third report this month showcasing a steady decrease in Trump’s approval rating in North Carolina over time. This most recent poll found that 39% of North Carolinian adults surveyed currently approve of the job President Donald Trump has done so far. “When he has the level of control of Congress that he has right now, it makes it a little bit harder for him to effectively frame himself as the person fighting the system,” Director of the Elon Poll Jason Husser said.

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NEWS 10/15/25 9:31am

Alamance County gears up for municipal elections

By Elon News Network

Candidates across Elon, Graham, Mebane, Burlington, Green Level, Swepsonville, the Village of Alamance and Gibsonville prepare for elections in mayor, council and alderman races. Election Day for Alamance County municipal elections will be on Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. In-person early voting will on Oct. 16 at the Alamance County Board of Elections office. The deadline for absentee ballot requests is Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. In-person early voting ends Nov. 1 at 3 p.m.

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