WINTON – Everyone figured it would be close….and the Hertford County Board of Education race lived up to its billing.

Meanwhile, in the only other contested local battle, a veteran county commissioner has earned another four-year term by a landslide.

In the unofficial tally in School Board race, one that featured six candidates vying for three seats, two of the three incumbents – Dennis M. Deloatch and board chairperson Shelia J. Porter – were reelected. The lone newcomer that collected enough votes to win a seat was Joanne H. Jones, the former principal at HertfordCountyEarlyCollegeHigh School.

Deloatch topped all candidates with 3,116 votes. He was the leading candidate in the Ahoskie 2 (302 votes), Ahoskie 3 (259), Bryantville Park (108), Harrellsville (113), and Union (134) precincts.

Placing second was Jones with 2,807 votes. She topped the voting in the Ahoskie 1 (327 votes), Murfreesboro 1 (436), Millennium (87) and Winton (131) precincts.

Porter rounded out the top three winners as she unofficially earned another term with 2,676 votes. The now retired Hertford County Middle School principal was the top vote-getter in the Como (85 votes), Cofield (104), and Murfreesboro 2 (202) precincts.

Long-time School Board member John D. Horton fell just short in his bid for another term. Horton collected 2,593 votes and topped the ballot in the St. John precinct where he was favored 151 times.

The three incumbents led the One-Stop balloting: Deloatch with 812 votes; Porter with 720; and Horton (661). Jones was named on 599 One-Stop ballots.

Rounding out the field were political newcomers Nora M. Artis (2,040 votes) and Mary C. Wyatt (1,119).

In the race for District 2 County Commissioner, veteran incumbent Democrat Curtis A. Freeman Sr. easily defeated Republican challenger Daniel Smith Sr. The unofficial results show Freeman with 4,018 votes (64.46%) while Smith was named on 2,215 ballots (35.54%).

Freeman carried 12 of the county’s 13 precincts:

Ahoskie 1 (323-278)

Ahoskie 2 (323-285)

Ahoskie 3 (386-71)

Bryantville Park (151-18)

Como (89-74)

Cofield (143-42)

Harrellsville (163-94)

Murfreesboro 1 (568-267)

Murfreesboro 2 (275-113)

St. John (189-92)

Union (150-126)

Winton (139-113)

Smith topped his opponent 125-80 in the Millennium precinct.

Freeman held a sizeable advantage in the One-Stop balloting (979-477).

“First and foremost I need to thank all those that supported me by giving me your vote of confidence,” said Freeman, first elected in 1998 and will be entering his fifth, four-year term next month. “From then (1998) ‘til now, my vision, my plans for Hertford County hasn’t changed….that’s to treat everyone the same, and do my best to help lead this county to become a better place to live, work and raise a family. I believe we have a team in place on our Board of Commissioners that wants to see everyone here be proud that they live in Hertford County.”

A trio of Hertford County veteran elected officials – District 1 Commissioner Johnnie Ray Farmer (5,054 votes); Sheriff Juan Vaughan (5,501 votes), and Clerk of Court Shirley G. Johnson (5,269) – earned reelection to their respective seats without opposition.

Two incumbents on the Hertford County Soil & Water District Board of Supervisors were also unchallenged and both earned another term – David Simons (3,707 votes) and Jimmy Mason (3,053).

Unofficially, 6,465 (43.23%) of the county’s 14,956 registered voters cast ballots in the 2014 General Election.