Danny Keel
Campaigns for the office of Mount Olive mayor and four of the five town board seats will be contested in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, nonpartisan municipal election.
The filing period, which began at noon on Friday, July 7, ended at noon Friday, July 21.
District 3 Commissioner Barbara Kornegay is the only uncontested candidate for town board while District 1 Commissioner Vicky Darden is facing two challengers, including the mother of a sitting town commissioner.
Darden, who is seeking her fourth term, and Brenda Lee Simpson both filed for the office on Friday, July 14. Ann Carol Simmons, the mother of District 2 Commissioner Delreese Simmons, made it a three-way race when she filed on Wednesday, July 19.
Mayor Kenny Talton did not seek reelection.
At-large Commissioner Steve Wiggins and Jerome Newton filed for mayor.
It is Newton’s second run for mayor having failed to unseat Talton in the previous election.
Robert King and Danny Keel filed for the at-large seat.
In District 2, Simmons is facing a challenge from former commissioner Harlie Carmichael whom he unseated in the previous election.
District 4 Commission Tommy King is running for a second term and is being challenged by Blake Turner.
The mayor and commissioners serve two-year terms.
Joanne Wilson was the only candidate to file for Calypso mayor. Wilson currently is a town commissioner.
Filing for the five at-large board seats were Marty Taylor (incumbent); Troy E. Jernigan Jr.; Larry Cashwell; Rubylene “Ruby” Lambert (incumbent); and Lisa Tyndall.
Calypso board members serve two-year terms.
William M. “Billy” Ward was the only candidate to file for Faison mayor. Ward currently serves as a town commissioner. That term does not end until 2025.
Filing for the three at-large board seats were Ken Avent Jr.; Lee Kennedy; Juan Carlos Quintalilla (incumbent); and Christy Allen.
Faison board members serve four-year staggered terms.
Candidates for Wayne County sanitary district elections were also up this year.
Three of the five at-large seats on the Southern Wayne Sanitary District Board are up for election as are all five at-large seats on the Southwestern Wayne Sanitary District.
Members serve four-year terms.
Filing for the Southern Wayne Sanitary District Board were Nathan Jesse Lee of Goldsboro; Thomas Gainey of Goldsboro; Jessica Pope of Goldsboro; Matthew McLamb of Goldsboro; and Scott Walker of Goldsboro.
Filing for election to the Southwestern Wayne Sanitary District were Jeremy King of Mount Olive; David Allen Bennett of Goldsboro (incumbent); Jimmy B. Cox of Goldsboro (incumbent); Daryll Overton of Goldsboro (incumbent); Kelly Jo Williams Hughes of Mount Olive (incumbent); Don Jenkins Jr. of Goldsboro.
Brown, the town’s former chief of police, said he is looking forward to running for a second term as District 4 commissioner.
“It has been a good year and a half on the board,” he said. “It’s been a little different from what I am used to, but still, like I have said before, it is like I am back at home being back with the town.”
Brown spent 23 years with the Mount Olive Police Department, the last five as chief.
After retiring in 2020, Brown, who started his law enforcement career as a U.S. Army military police officer, said he took about a year and a half break to focus on family before deciding to run for the board.
Brown said he is running to give back to the ones in his district and in the town who supported him during his time as a law enforcement officer.
“The support I got from this community was great,” he said. “I always have had that mindset of service above self, and I guess that was instilled in me in the military and law enforcement career and it runs over into my retirement.
“I have time to dedicate to the town on the board. It is not a full-time job, and I am able to give that time back to support the town that supported me.”
One of the board’s accomplishments during his first term was updating the town’s mobile home parks ordinance to help bring housing to the town thereby helping increase the tax base, Brown said.
Also of concern was the supply chain issues during the height of the Covid pandemic. That is easing off a bit, he added.
Brown said he is excited that the town will be receiving $14 million in federal grants for improvements to the sewer plant and sewer lines.
“Hopefully that will relieve that (state-imposed sewer) moratorium,” he said. “It is not going to happen overnight, but, hopefully, that will help us tremendously, and maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel now with those funds coming.
“We will need to monitor it and see where we go from here.”
Brown and Wiggins also serve on a Veterans Memorial Committee that is looking to expand the town’s veterans memorial.
They are trying to figure out ways to raise money and have an event plan to help in those efforts, he added.
“I have a couple of things in mind that I want to follow up on to see about bringing some money into that project as well,” Brown said. “I want to run a clean campaign and hopefully win this election and be a part of the board for at least two more years.
“I have a lot of leadership training, management training that I can use those qualities as a commissioner as well. And that 30-year law enforcement veteran in me that you just grab the bull by the horns and run with it.”
Keel retired in 2017 following 30 years of state and local government service including as a Wayne County deputy sheriff; N.C. Highway Patrolman; city of Goldsboro building code inspector; Mount Olive code enforcement officer/zoning officer, EMT and police dispatcher; and Goldsboro EMT-Intermediate.
Keel served as a volunteer with the Mount Olive Rescue Squad for 22 years and as a volunteer with the Mount Olive Fire Department for 10 years. He is a lifetime member of Mount Olive Rescue Squad and the Wayne County Rescue Association as well as the N.C. Rescue & EMS Association.
“I was born and raised on Pollock Street in Mount Olive,” Keel said. “I have continued to live in Mount Olive my entire adult life. Over the years, I have served the citizens of Mount Olive in several different capacities, and I would like to continue to serve the citizens as a town board member.
“I believe that my years of experience in local and state government have given me significant knowledge that is needed to serve as a board member. My ultimate goal is to make Mount Olive a better place to live and work for all of its citizens — current and future generations.”
Keel said that, if elected, he will work to have the sewer moratorium lifted so that Mount Olive can continue to thrive and grow. He added that he would work to have the necessary improvements made to the town’s sewer system to bring it into compliance with state mandates that have created the moratorium situation.
If the moratorium is lifted, Mount Olive can continue to grow and attract business, industry, and citizens, Keel said.
“I would also work to secure funding for a new fire station and wage increases for the town employees who should be recognized for their hard work that they do every day,” he said.
