Brunswick County Schools elections (2016)
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Three of the five seats on the Brunswick County Schools school board—Districts 1, 2 and 4—were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. All three seats saw Republican primary elections on March 15, 2016. No Democrats filed for the District 1 race, which left the Republican primary winner without any official opposition in the general election. The other two primary winners each faced a Democratic challenger in the general election.[1][2]
District 1 incumbent Olaf Thorsen did not file to see a third term on the board. Republicans Harry "Ed" Lemon Jr., Gene Steadman Jr. and Joseph "Joey" Causey were on the primary ballot. Harry "Ed" Lemon Jr. won the primary and, having faced no formal opposition in the general election, won the seat. Write-in votes were allowed.
In District 2, the Republican primary election showed that incumbent Catherine Cooke could defeat challengers Christy Faircloth Judah and Steve Wray. Cooke faced Sharon Woodard Crawford (D) on the general election ballot and won re-election to her seat.
District 4 saw the fewest Republican filings of the three races, but a primary was still necessary. Ellen Milligan (R) successfully challenged incumbent Shirley Babson and faced Marty Mentzer (D) in November. Milligan won the general election.[3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Brunswick County Schools school board consists of five partisan members elected by district to four-year terms. General elections for the board are staggered on even years. Primaries are held if more than two candidates of the same party file for any one seat. Districts 1, 2 and 4 were up for election in 2016.
A Republican primary for all three seats was held on March 15, 2016. No other primaries were necessary. The general election for all three seats was November 8, 2016.
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on December 1, 2015. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was December 21, 2015.[4] Candidates had to pay a filing fee of $157.[5]
Candidates and results
District 1 general election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Harry Lemon Jr. (unopposed) |
100.00% | 49,431 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 49,431 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-Brunswick," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
 Harry "Ed" Lemon Jr. 
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District 1 primary election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Harry Lemon Jr. |
39.67% | 7,075 | |
| Republican | Eugene Steadman Jr. | 32.32% | 5,763 | |
| Republican | Burnice Joseph Causey Jr. | 28.01% | 4,995 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 17,833 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results - Brunswick," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| Gene Steadman Jr.
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Joseph "Joey" Causey
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District 2 general election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Catherine Cooke Incumbent |
61.49% | 39,013 | |
| Democrat | Sharon Woodard Crawford | 38.51% | 24,429 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 63,442 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-Brunswick," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
| Catherine Cooke
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 Sharon Woodard Crawford
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District 2 primary election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Catherine Cooke Incumbent |
37.14% | 6,299 | |
| Republican | Johnny Stephen Wray | 33.73% | 5,721 | |
| Republican | Christy Faircloth Judah | 29.13% | 4,941 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 16,961 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results - Brunswick," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| Christy Faircloth Judah
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Steve Wray
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District 4 general election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ellen Gore Milligan |
63.12% | 40,243 | |
| Democrat | Martha Cherry Mentzer | 36.88% | 23,515 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 63,758 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-Brunswick," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
| Ellen Milligan
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Marty Mentzer
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District 4 primary election
Results
| Brunswick County Schools, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ellen Gore Milligan |
63.75% | 10,974 | |
| Republican | Shirley Babson Incumbent | 36.25% | 6,241 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 17,215 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results - Brunswick," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| Shirley Babson
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2016
The following offices shared primary, general or both election dates with the school board elections in Brunswick County:
- President
- U.S. Senate
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- State Treasurer
- State Auditor
- State Superintendent of Schools
- Agriculture Commissioner
- Labor Commissioner
- Insurance Commissioner
- State Senate District 8
- State House of Representatives Districts 17 and 18
- North Carolina Court of Appeals
- 13th Judicial District Court
- Brunswick County Commissioners: Districts 3, 4 and 5
- Brunswick County Register of Deeds
- Brunswick County Coroner
- Soil and Water District Supervisor
The North Carolina Connect NC Public Improvement Bond question was also on the March ballot statewide.
Note: The date for North Carolina's congressional primary was June 7, 2016. This primary was originally scheduled for March 15, 2016.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for North Carolina school board general elections held on November 8, 2016:[6]
| Deadline | Event |
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| December 1, 2015 | Candidate filing begins |
| December 21, 2015 | Candidate filing ends |
| March 7, 2016 | First quarter campaign finance deadline |
| March 15, 2016 | Primary Election Day, if necessary |
| November 8, 2016 | General Election Day |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[7]
The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.[8]
Candidates received a total of $8,511.48 and spent a total of $7,808.46 in the primary election as of March 29, 2016, according to the Brunswick County Board of Elections.[9]
Past elections
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2014District 3
District 5
2012District 1
District 2
District 4
2010District 3
District 5
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Transgender bathroom law
North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB 2) which stated that individuals in government-operated facilities had to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender stated on their birth certificate on March 23, 2016. The law was passed by the legislature in a one-day special session and was signed into law that night by Governor Pat McCrory (R). The bill reversed an earlier ruling that allowed transgender individuals to use the restroom of their preference, and it offset local ordinances in the state that let transgender citizens do so.[10]
On March 30, 2017, the North Carolina State Legislature approved and Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed a repeal of HB 2. HB 142 repealed HB 2 but created a three-year moratorium on local anti-discrimination ordinances and prohibited local ordinances related to bathroom access.[11] The state house approved HB 142 by a 70-48 vote and the state senate voted 32-16 to pass the measure.[12]
HB 2's effect on NC school districts
When HB 2 was signed into law, many school districts in the state struggled to formulate a response, especially since Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. North Carolina school districts were unsure of how to balance these two laws. In the Wake County Public School System, Wake County sheriff Donnie Harrison said he would consider pulling deputies out of schools if the district did not decide on a consistent transgender bathroom policy. Harrison said the district did not have a uniform policy on the use of bathrooms by transgender students, which was causing confusion and unease among parents.[13][14]
According to Lisa Luten, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson, transgender student issues with bathrooms and locker rooms were handled on a case-by-case basis. "No child has ever been at risk based on how we have handled this issue,” Luten said. “Because this issue is still being debated in federal courts, the school system is unable to create a formal policy.”[13] (Note: The court ruling on HB 2 was made on March 30, 2017.) The district's superintendent James Merrill said that transgender bathroom questions ought to be addressed by administrators rather than student resource officers. According to Nathan Smith, the director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the consequence is that many schools decide their transgender bathroom policies on a case-by-case basis, leading to conflicting rules between school campuses.[13][15]
Backlash
On July 21, 2016, the NBA announced it planned to move its All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, which was scheduled to be held there in 2017. According to the Charlotte Observer, this decision would cost the city approximately $100 million. On September 12, 2016, the NCAA moved seven championships that were scheduled to be held in the state during the 2016-2017 school year. Two days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference made a similar decision, revealing it planned to move the men's football championship game scheduled for December 2016 from Charlotte.
Want to see how this election related to state and national trends on this topic? Ballotpedia tracked this issue in the 2016 election cycle so you can see the connections and impact on this race in context.
About the district
- See also: Brunswick County Schools, North Carolina
Brunswick County Schools is located in Brunswick County, North Carolina. The county seat is Bolivia. Brunswick County was home to 122,765 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[16] The district was the 31st-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 12,415 students.[17]
Demographics
Brunswick County underperformed in comparison to North Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent for the state as a whole. The median household income in the county was $46,955, compared to $46,693 for the state. The poverty rate in the county was 15.7 percent, compared to 17.2 percent for the state.[16]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Brunswick County Schools' 'North Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Brunswick County Schools | North Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Brunswick County Board of Elections, "Primary Election Candidate List," January 19, 2016
- ↑ Brunswick County Board of Elections, "General Election Candidate List," January 4, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Brunswick," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ Brunswick County Board of Elections, "2016 Filing Fees," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Brunswick County Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Understanding HB2: North Carolina’s newest law solidifies state’s role in defining discrimination," March 26, 2016
- ↑ ABC 11, "GOV. COOPER SIGNS NORTH CAROLINA'S HB2 COMPROMISE BILL," March 30, 2017
- ↑ NBC News, "HB2 Repeal: North Carolina Legislature Votes to Overturn Controversial ‘Bathroom Bill’," March 30, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Daily Tarheel, "Wake County sheriff calls for consistent transgender bathroom policy," September 29, 2016
- ↑ CBS North Carolina, "Wake sheriff threatens to pull deputies over transgender bathroom policy," September 27, 2016
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Four things to remember about House Bill 2," September 13, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 United States Census Bureau, "Brunswick County, North Carolina," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "NC Voter Statistics Results," accessed April 28, 2014
| 2016 Brunswick County Schools Elections | |
| Brunswick County, North Carolina. | |
| Election date: | Primary: March 15, 2016 General: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Joseph "Joey" Causey (R) • Harry "Ed" Lemon Jr. (R) • Gene Steadman Jr. (R) District 2: Incumbent, Catherine Cooke (R) • Christy Faircloth Judah (R) • Steve Wray (R) • Sharon Woodard Crawford (D) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
