Long-awaited victory: New Bern runoff winners excited, thankful for the opportunity to serve

Though a few more votes were tallied, the outcome of New Bern’s runoff elections remained unchanged last week following the August 5 canvassing count. The canvass added mail-in, absentee, and preliminary ballots to the final total for the runoff elections, making the results official.

According to the final canvass count, the July 26 runoff saw New Bern Ward 6 Alderman Jeffrey Odham defeat former New Bern police chief Toussaint Summers with 3,191 votes (51.71%). Summers finished with 2,980 votes. (48.29%).

The runoff election was requested by Odham after neither candidate finished the May 17 election with more than 50% of the total vote count. Summers finished with 2,635 votes while Odham received 2,631.

OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS: City of New Bern runoff election

It was the second time Odham has come from behind to defeat a challenger in a runoff election.

In the 2013 alderman race for Ward 6, he won a runoff election after initially losing to Ashley Smith in the October election by 134 votes.

Odham will officially take over as New Bern mayor in September.

In May, current mayor Dana Outlaw came up short in his bid to unseat incumbent E.T. Mitchell in the District 4 Craven County Commissioner primary race.

"I'm certainly excited and thankful for the opportunity," Odham said. "I actually opened up my candidacy for mayor back in September of 2019 getting ready for the election that was supposed to be in October 2021 but got pushed off to May. Then we had the runoff in July, so it just seemed like a never-ending campaign."

Odham said the board will discuss a date to officially seat incoming aldermen during their August 9 meeting.

"Some members think we're rushing this but this thing has been going on for so long that it's time for the new board to get in place and get going," he commented. "If there's a way to speed this process up then we need to do it, this board has already served way longer than it was intended anyway."

Prill, Royal come out on top in alderman races

In perhaps the most unexpected result of the July 26 runoff election, Rick Prill unseated incumbent Ward 1 Alderwoman Sabrina Bengel, bringing in 781 votes (56.47%) to Bengel's 602 (43.53%) votes.

Like Odham, Prill came from behind to win the seat. During the May 17 election, Bengel finished first with 548 votes while Prill ended the night with 507 votes.

Bengel has represented New Bern’s Ward 1 for two non-consecutive terms.

Prill, a former city manager, has held numerous positions over the last 30 years, including municipal clerk, zoning officer, code enforcement official, emergency management director, and recycling coordinator.

The Sun Journal reached out to Prill for comment on his win but had not received a reply by deadline.

In New Bern’s final runoff election, New Bern pastor Hazel Royal defeated local businesswoman Jennell Reddick for the Ward 2 alderman seat. The final canvass tally had Royal defeating Reddick by only 36 votes, 379 (52.49%) to 343 (47.51%).

Reddick won the May 17 race for Ward 2, defeating incumbent Alderwoman Jameesha Harris and finishing 27 votes ahead of Royal. Since neither candidate was able to obtain 50% of the vote, Royal was able to request a runoff.

A lifetime resident of Ward 2, Royal has served as a community pastor for 40 years. She has worked as the executive director of Abundant Life Community Services, Inc., a local nonprofit, for more than two decades.

"I'm very, very thankful for the opportunity to serve as the alderman for Ward 2 and I'm deeply grateful for my support base and those who voted for me," Royal said.

Royal said her vision for Ward 2 is to ensure the city has a government that is "inclusive of all people."

"I firmly believe that every voice has value. One priority I have as alderman of Ward 2 is community engagement," she commented. "I feel that is a critical approach to government, hearing the voice of the people. As a resident of Pembroke, no one knows what Pembroke needs better than those residents, and I feel that holds true for every community."

This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: New Bern runoff winners excited, thankful for the opportunity to serve