DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711020132

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH  AND JEFF HAMPTON, STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

WEATHER MAY GOVERN VOTER TURNOUT MUNICIPAL SLATE MAY NOT ATTRACT MANY TO POLLS.

A hotly contested council runoff in Elizabeth City, and mayoral races in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills, top Tuesday's Albemarle-area municipal elections.

Polls will open at 6:30 a.m.

Without a marquee statewide or national race on the ballot, weather may affect turnout Tuesday.

``In municipal elections, it usually runs between 15 and 20 percent,'' said Lynda Midgett, director of elections in Dare County. There are 8,648 people registered to vote in Dare County's municipalities.

``Two years ago, you had a hotly contested race in Manteo, and turnout was about 53 percent. Everywhere else, it was between 11 and 44 percent.''

In Elizabeth City, incumbent Fourth Ward City Councilman A.C. Robinson Jr. is in a fight for his political life in a runoff to keep the seat against retired policeman William ``Olie'' Leary.

Robinson, 54, a retired Elizabeth City State University administrator, has been on the council since 1986, representing the predominantly black district.

Leary, who is white, lost in a three-way race by a scant seven votes, prompting Tuesday's runoff.

Here is a look at the municipal races:

In Nags Head, Mayor Renee Cahoon faces Town Commissioner Doug Remaley.

Seven candidates are vying for two seats on the Board of Commissioners. Incumbent Robert ``Bob'' Muller is joined by Jeanne Acree, a former commissioner; George Bowman, a Dare County sheriff's deputy; Pete Grana, a retired firefighter; businessman R. Brantley ``Brant'' Murray; Harry Seymour, Dare County Emergency Services director; and retired engineer Charles B. ``Chuck'' Thompson.

In Kill Devil Hills, Mayor Pro Tempore E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson and real estate executive Sherry Rollason are fighting for the mayor's job.

Two seats are up for grabs on the board of commissioners. Businessman Jim Basnight, retired government executive J. Howard Kimble, defense consultant Bill Pitt and Jeff Shields are on the ballot.

Shields was appointed two years ago to fill the seat left vacant when Duncan Wright was elected mayor. Wright chose not to run for re-election.

Harbeson, Kimble and Pitt are running as a unified slate.

A unified slate is also on the ballot in Kitty Hawk. Incumbent councilmen Leo Antonucci, Ken Hollowell and Paul Pruitt are running together against retired banker Bill Fruit. Three seats are at stake.

In Southern Shores, incumbent Mayor Pro Tempore Carl Berntsen, retired postal executive Joe Campbell and retired naval officer Paul Sutherland are on the ballot, vying for two seats.

Mayor Lee Tugwell is unopposed for mayor in Manteo. Three seats on the board of commissioners are contested. Incumbents Dellerva Collins, Curtis Creech and Edward Etheridge are joined on the ballot by retired Coast Guardsman David Farrow.

In Edenton, three incumbent councilmen are unopposed: Jerry L. Parks, Jerald Perry Sr. and Willis Privott.

In Hertford, Incumbents Sid Eley and Erie Haste Jr. are challenged by Horace C. Reed for two open seats.

And in Winfall, incumbents Willie B. Moore Sr. and Fred Yates are joined by Joan A.H. Mansfield on the ballot. Two seats are open. KEYWORDS: ELECTION CANDIDATE

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