Vernon Bryant won a seat to Halifax County Board of Commissioners and incumbents James Pierce and Rives Manning were returned to office, according to unofficial election returns.
Bryant, a member of the Roanoke Rapids school board, collected 30.28 percent of the votes. Pierce, the current chair of the county commissioners, got 29.63 percent and Manning 20.99 percent.
Voter turnout was 14.60 percent, according to the board of elections website.
Bryant said he wants to work to bring more jobs to the county and help the county provide better education. He also said he wants to help law enforcement and senior citizens.
As a 13 year member of the city school board — going into his fifth year as chair — Bryant said he will give much thought to how he can help the county school system improve. “I’m not going to be mirco-managing school board members,” he said. “They’ve got to be held accountable for taxpayer dollars and keep their eyes on the prize which is better academic achievement.”
With projects like the Reser’s expansion ongoing, Bryant believes the county “is headed in the right direction.”
Pierce said being chair of the board has kept him busy. “I’m kind of enjoying that now that I have more time. It’s rewarding.”
The chairman of the board said he believes the county “is on the edge of exciting things” but has to exercise fiscal control. “We continue to dig into our reserve and that’s never good but now is not the time for a tax increase.”
Pierce, who said he was appreciative of his supporters, said reports from the finance and tax department indicate, “Things are beginning to turn around a little.”
Manning said he didn’t know what to expect from the election. “It really goes to show every vote does count,” he said, referring to challenger Denise Savage’s 19.10 percent share.
Manning will be starting his third term as will Pierce.
Manning said he plans to continue working on maintaining sound fiscal policies in the county. “We’ve got to grow the economy and grow the county. We want to add more jobs and have better, more accountable schools. We have to do more with what we’ve got.”
Halifax County Board of Education
In a close county school board race, Susie Lynch Evans collected 15.29 percent of the votes, Clarence Carmon 14.78 percent and Tyus Few 14.16 percent.
Northampton County
In Northampton County, Fannie Greene collected 78.16 percent of the votes to be returned to her District 5 county commissioner seat, beating challenger Terrence Boone.
In the sheriff’s race, incumbent Wardie Vincent collected 80.72 percent of the votes to beat Greg Colson.
Laquitta Cooper edged Shelby Ricks in the clerk of court race, getting 52.44 percent of the votes.
Rhonda Taylor collected 22.44 percent of the votes in the school board race while Kelvin Edwards got 19.94 percent and Don Johnson 19.03 percent.
Voter turnout in Northampton was 31.77 percent.
