Duplin election results
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 21, 2004 1:56 PM
KENANSVILLE -- Duplin County Commissioner L.S. Guy of Faison edged out his challenger, Snodie Wilson of Kenansville, again in Tuesday's primary election.
Guy was 19 votes ahead when he received 51 percent of the votes in District 1. The unofficial total was 676 to 657.
Guy replaced T. Elwood Revelle in 2000 after edging out Wilson by almost 100 votes in a primary runoff election.
There has been no Republican challenger for the District 1 commissioner seat in the past couple of elections.
David Fussell, a Wallace newcomer to the political arena, took the Democratic nomination for the District 4 seat on the county commissioner board. He will face Republican Ray Garriss of Wallace in November in the election to replace Myrle Beringer, who did not seek re-election.
Fussell took 68 percent of the votes, for an unofficial total of 439 to Tommy Herring's 211 votes.
Commissioner Reginald Wells made it through the primary with 69 percent of the votes for the Democratic nomination to represent District 6 again. His total was 429 unofficially, to challenger Quincy Hill's 190 votes. He will square off against Republican Sean Knowles in November. All of the candidates are from Rose Hill.The District 5 incumbent, Zettie Williams of Magnolia, is unopposed.
Also unopposed is the register of deeds, Davis Brinson.
Willie Gillespie wins
Retired educator Willie Gillespie took the District 1 seat on the Duplin County Board of Education. The incumbent, board Chairman Doc Brinson, did not seek re-election. Gillespie received 58 percent of the votes. He received a total of 774 unofficially, to Steve Williamson's 501 and Gary Cook's 50.
The school board members representing Districts 5 and 6 are unopposed. They are Hubert E. Bowden of Warsaw and Reginald Kenan of Wallace.
Tucker wins again
Duplin County voters gave former state Rep. Russell Tucker 74 percent of the votes in the Democratic primary for election to the District 4 seat in the state House of Representatives.
Tucker's unofficial total in Duplin was 2,937 to Naverro Brown's 683 and Martin Herring's 365.