County council race heads to June 24 runoff

The Beaufort County Council District 9 race will head to a runoff because none of the three candidates in Tuesday's Republican primary garnered at least 50 percent of the vote.

Brian Flewelling and Bill Bootle, neither who have held elected office, were the top two vote-getters with 40 percent and 33 percent of the vote, respectively, according to unofficial results.

A third candidate, Tommy O'Brien, 52, received 26 percent of the vote.

The men are vying for the County Council seat being vacated by council Vice Chairman Skeet Von Harten, who has decided not to run for another four-year term in the district that represents portions of Burton and Shell Point.

The runoff is June 24.

Bootle, 70, said Tuesday night that he will continue to work hard to win the race.

"I'm tickled to death, but I have two weeks of hard work ahead," he said.

Bootle said he considers schools, annexation, taxes and spending less money all issues the county must tackle.

"(The county) needs to tighten our belts as everyone else needs to tighten their belts," he said.

Flewelling, 47, took a break from his campaign Tuesday night, but said he is looking forward to this next challenge as his team goes forward.

"Obviously, we anticipated (a runoff) as a potential outcome," he said.

Flewelling said he'll continue taking his campaign door to door, a strategy he says helped get him to this point in the race. He said he considers the potential for overdevelopment and water quality two major issues that must be dealt with in the county. He said redistricting will also become a hot topic for Beaufort County in the coming term.

"(The campaign) is kicking into high gear right now," he said. "This is so exciting for me and very heartwarming."