Municipal elections in Stokes County are finally over, and the results show a shake-up countywide. New faces will be seen in Danbury, King and Walnut Cove.

Results from the mayoral races were mixed. The incumbent John Hodgkin retained his position in Walnut Cove by a narrow margin over challenger Alma Childers—182 to 174. Four provisional votes are being evaluated by the Board of Elections in Danbury. Those results should be forthcoming by the end of the week but will not be enough change the outcome in that race.

“I just feel like a lot of pressure has been relieved,” Hodgkin said just after the results came in.

In Danbury, however, the story was a different one. The incumbent, Mayor Jane Priddy Charleville, was defeated by a narrow margin by newcomer Janet Whitt. The final tallies were only one vote apart—30 to 29.

“I’m overwhelmed but really excited,” Whitt commented. “I just wish I could’ve won without anyone else losing.”

The status quo was totally debunked in King as the incumbents Carolyn Byerly and Gray Southern both lost their bids for re-election to the city council. Their seats will be filled by Charles Allen and Wesley Carter.

Carter garnered the most votes with 203, with Allen just behind him with 191. Southern was third with 148, while Byerly had 126.

Allen says he was happy when the results came in. He admits he was somewhat surprised but added, “I think maybe there were some folks who wanted change.”

Walnut Cove’s incumbents didn’t fare well either. Dr. Debbie Cowan and Kim Lewis, both longtime board members, lost their seats to Sharon Conaway and Charles Mitchell.

Conaway was the top vote-getter for town commissioner with 198, followed by Mitchell with 151. Elwood Mabe was a close third with 142. Lewis trailed with 114, and Cowan tallied 68.

Conaway stated: “It was just overwhelming. It’s been a challenge, an interesting journey, and I’ve met a lot of good people along the way.”

Mitchell noted: “I was elated to be chosen, that the people had the confidence to pick me. I’m gonna do my best. I’m not perfect, but I want to do that which is right and stand against that which is wrong.”

Neither of the Danbury incumbents—Joe Del Guercio or Carolyn Manuel—had opted to run again, so the composition of the Danbury Town Council will also be changed. The surprise there was that the top vote-getter was a write-in candidate, Wendi Uselton, with 30.

“I was just kind of shocked,” said Uselton, the chair of the Danbury Planning and Zoning Board. “It’s an honor and a great responsibility that I won’t take lightly.”

She explains how she began her write-in campaign, “I very humbly wrote a letter to the town.” Uselton says she told townspeople she would be “open to listening to people.”

Uselton added that there was a lot of work to do but that she pledges herself to levelheaded decision-making, honesty and transparency.

Her new fellow council member will be Olivia Shelton who tallied 28 votes. Rebecca Sullivan was narrowly edged out, getting 24 votes. John Turpin finished with 16.

Shelton was pleased with the day, “There was a very pleasant environment at the precinct.” She is also optimistic about the future, “I really feel that everyone elected wants to do the best for Danbury.” Shelton added that she was excited that she was going to be working with Uselton.

Voter turnout was highest in Danbury at approximately 82 percent. Walnut Cove’s turnout was also higher than normal; the town was already at nearly 30 percent by noon. King had the lowest percentage of all.

The Stokes County Board of Elections website reported that total voter participation was 14.25 percent, with 782 votes cast countywide. The total of registered municipal voters is 5,488.

The new mayors were particularly optimistic about their upcoming duties. Hodgkin noted, “I’m looking forward to sitting down with the new board, continuing to move the Greenway project forward, to continue to clean up old buildings, to just continue to improve services for the people of Walnut Cove.”

Whitt stated: “I’ve got a lot of challenges ahead, but I’m up for the challenges. It’s gonna be hard work, but it’s gonna be fun along the way.”