Run it back: Odham calls for runoff, New Bern's third in last four municipal election cycles
A runoff will determine who will serve as New Bern's next mayor.
As anticipated, Ward 6 Alderman Jeffrey Odham has called for a runoff election against the city's former chief of police Toussaint Summers. Along with runoff elections for Ward 1 and Ward 2, election day is scheduled for July 26.
Since 2013, city elections have needed three runoffs to determine the mayor and several members of the board of aldermen.
Odham is no stranger to a runoff; he needed one when he was first elected as Ward 6 alderman in 2013. Odham finished second to Ashley Smith by 134 votes but because Smith was unable to obtain 50% of the vote, a runoff was requested one month later.
Leading by one vote: Summers holds slim lead as results remain unofficial
New Bern Aldermen: Bengel leads in Ward 1, Reddick takes down Harris, Brinson wins
During the runoff, Odham beat Smith, winning by a total of 24 votes, and officially became the ward's next alderman. In 2017, Odham ran uncontested and retained his seat.
Odham released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying, "after spending the Memorial Day weekend with my family and participating in several events throughout our community, I have decided to call for a runoff in the race for mayor of the city of New Bern. With just four votes separating first and second place, and neither candidate meeting the 50% plus one threshold, this race is undecided. From the moment the results came in on election night, I have fielded many calls, emails, and texts from citizens and community leaders encouraging me to call for a runoff."
New Bern's final vote tallies have Summers finishing the May 17 election with 2,635 votes, while Odham received 2,631. New Bern residents Tim Harris and Maxwell Oglesby finished third and fourth respectively, with Harris bringing in 304 votes and Oglesby tallying 126.
Neither Harris nor Oglesby will be a part of the runoff election.
In Ward 1, incumbent Alderman Sabrina Bengel finished with 548 votes while New Bern resident Rick Prill received 507 votes. Former Ward 5 Alderman Bernard White finished third with 217 votes.
In Ward 2, Alderwoman Jameesha Harris' service on the board will officially end after coming in third place against Jennell Reddick and Hazel Royal. Reddick finished first in the race with 268 votes while Royal finished second with 240 votes.
Read this: Several New Bern candidates celebrate Tuesday night lead but races are far from over
After Odham's announcement on Tuesday, New Bern will now have three runoff elections in July with Prill and Royal also requesting runoffs.
Ward 6 candidate Bob Brinson was the only candidate to win a city contested race outright on election night. Brinson beat Travis Oakley by 304 votes and received 60.8% of the vote.
Ward 3 Alderman Bobby Aster, Ward 4 Alderman Johnnie Ray Kinsey, and Ward 5 Alderman Barbara Best also won their respective races outright. Neither of the three incumbents ran contested.
Reporter Trevor Dunnell can be reached by email at tdunnell@newbernsj.com. Please consider supporting local journalism by signing up for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Run it back: Odham requests runoff in New Bern mayoral election
