Sykes victorious in Brunswick Co. 3rd District Commission race

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The controversial primary race for commissioner in Brunswick County’s 3rd District is over, and the victory has gone to Pat Sykes, who won with about 50 percent of the vote. Sykes will run uncontested in November, because no Democrats filed to run for the seat.

Sykes says she looks forward to working for the people of Brunswick County.

“All my coworkers, my family and my friends all coming together to support me, and it just fell into place,” Sykes said. “It was really good today, and I’ve had good help, and everybody wanted me to win.”

Incumbent Charles Warren, who has had several issues in office, finished third in the Republican race, earning less than 10 percent of the vote. Warren and Sykes were often at odds as members of the county’s DSS Board. In December, Warren, who chaired the board, threw Sykes out of a meeting. Days later during a discussion about the incident at a County Commission meeting, Warren was thrown out for being disruptive. Eventually fellow commissioners, who had months early censured Warren for refusing to follow the Commission’s Code of Ethics and step down from the DSS Board, voted to remove Warren from the DSS Board.

After results came in, we called Warren for a comment. He said he is proud of what he has accomplished during his time as a commissioner and wishes Sykes success during her term.

Joe Agovino came in second with 33 percent.

“I would like to congratulate Pat Sykes for a good race,” Agovino said. “She put a lot of effort in and it was an honorable race between us and she worked hard. Tomorrow morning I will start working for her.”

Jwantana Frink finished fourth with nearly nine percent of the votes.