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Carolina Beach Mayor Lynn Barbee wins second term, council incumbents retain seats

Winners of the 2023 Election
WHQR
/
NHC BOE
Winners of the 2023 Election

The Town of Carolina Beach mayoral and council races were both contested, but incumbent Mayor Lynn Barbee won a second term — and defeated challengers Michelle Alberda, Chad Kirk, and Tyler McDowell.

Barbee beat out Alberda by close to 9 percentage points.

Results from NCSBOE - November 8, 2023
NCSBOE
Results from NCSBOE - November 8, 2023

He said he ran on continuing long-range planning and maintenance of the town’s water and sewer infrastructure.

But said this race was a tough one.

“The political climate in Carolina Beach is very competitive. It's very passionate. And that comes from having a very engaged electorate. And I was thinking, how awesome it is that we get to clash on the political playing field and bash those ideas together,” Barbee said.

For the town council race, incumbents Deb LeCompte and Jay Healy defeated challenger Danny McLaughlin. LeCompte won 46% of the vote; Healy won 36%. McLaughlin trailed behind Healy by 22 points.

While these incumbents have hefty leads, all results are official on canvass day — which is Friday, November 17.

But moving forward, newly-elected Barbee, said the town has to focus on figuring out how to pay for delayed maintenance over the years. Barbee said that’s likely going to be issued bonds, which are basically loans.

“And that decision would be up to the town staff and council,” he said.

According to Barbee, it’s not just infrastructure for water and sewer the town needs to deal with, they have to focus on upgrading their wastewater treatment plant.

“There are upgrades to the water system in general in terms of additional water facilities, water storage facilities, and pumping facilities,” he said.

During the October town hall forum for the race, hosted by WHQR, WECT, and Port City Daily, a top issue the candidates discussed was parking on the island, but Barbee said while it’s an important concern, the town isn’t different from other beach towns or the growing population of New Hanover County.

“I really think it's pressure from growth, and it puts pressure on businesses and on the municipalities to figure out how to handle this growth, and I think a lot of that pressure boils over when election time comes,” he said. “So, it's really primarily about growth and change, and all of us, no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, struggle with change,” Barbee said.

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Rachel is a graduate of UNCW's Master of Public Administration program, specializing in Urban and Regional Policy and Planning. She also received a Master of Education and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and French Language & Literature from NC State University. She served as WHQR's News Fellow from 2017-2019. Contact her by email: rkeith@whqr.org or on Twitter @RachelKWHQR