By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com
Democrat Linda Rhodes won re-election to her at large seat ono the Sanford City Council Tuesday, turning aside a challenge from Republican Louis Williams away with nearly 79 percent of the vote.
With all precincts reporting, Rhodes earned 1,680 votes (78.84 percent) to Williams’ 446 (20.93).
The race between Rhodes and Williams was the only contested race on the Sanford ballot. Democratic Sanford mayor Rebecca Wyhof, a Democrat, won re-election with 1,857 votes, and incumbent Ward 1 Councilman Mark Akinosho, also a Democrat, was elected to a second term with 528 votes. In Ward 3, Democrat Chris Petty won election to the city council with 139 votes. Petty defeated Ward 3 incumbent J.D. Williams in the September primary.
In Broadway, an incumbent member of the nonpartisan Town Board finished last, meaning two new members will join the board. Thomas Beal, who has served Broadway for at least 20 years, finished behind incumbent April Collins and challengers Wendy Bryan and Laura Duval, both of whom will join the board. Voters could choose three out of the four candidates. Incumbent James Paschal withdrew from the race in September.
Duval, a former town clerk, led the ticket in Broadway with 198 votes. Collins finished second with 185 votes, and Sanford Tourism Authority Director Bryan finished third with 173. Beal received 121 votes.
Between Sanford and Broadway’s municipal limits, there were 19,853 voters eligible to participate in the 2025 elections. Just 2,389, about 12 percent, cast a ballot.