NORTH BEACH — Mary Healey will lead North Beach for the next four years. The longtime Town Council member won a three-way race for mayor in the town’s Nov. 3 municipal election, taking 237 votes, according to certified results released by the Town of North Beach Tuesday night.
Healey finished well ahead of Elizabeth N. Lawton, who received 86 votes, and Michelle O. Crosby-Nagy, who received 97. Her 237 votes made up about 56% of the 420 cast in the mayor’s race.
The council race was settled before the polls opened in one sense: six candidates ran for six seats, so every name on the ballot will take office. The order of finish was tight, with only 21 votes separating first from last.
| Town Council candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Carola Wilson | 290 |
| Allan Creamer | 285 |
| Gregory Dotson | 284 |
| Mickey Hummel | 284 |
| Paul Ramos | 281 |
| Randy Hummel | 269 |
The results mark a transition at the top of town government. Mayor Mike Benton, who led the bayfront town of about 2,100 residents, did not seek another term this year. Healey has served on the council and, as of the Maryland Manual’s most recent listing, held the council’s vice president post, a one-year role the council chooses each January.
Two returning faces are among the council winners. Gregory Dotson and Mickey Hummel both appear on the Maryland Manual’s roster of current council members, and Randy Hummel is a former longtime councilman who has run for mayor in the past. Wilson, Creamer and Ramos round out the new council.
A town-run election on state election day
North Beach ran its own nonpartisan election at Town Hall, separate from the county and state general election held the same day. Earlier this year the council weighed handing the job to the state. In January, town staff told the council that keeping its own election administration would cost about $42,400, while a partnership with the State Board of Elections and the Calvert County Board of Elections would carry no direct cost to the town. A change would have required a charter amendment.
Turnout in the mayor’s race was modest. The 420 votes cast compare with a town voter base the Chronicle reported in January at about 1,500, which works out to roughly 28%. That figure is an estimate, since the town’s results did not list registration or turnout.
Unlike the county and state contests on the ballot Tuesday, the town’s results are already certified. In its announcement, the town congratulated the newly elected mayor and council and thanked its Board of Supervisors of Elections, election workers and volunteers.
Healey and the six council members serve four-year terms. For the county races that shared the ballot, including the Board of County Commissioners, see the Chronicle’s report on where Calvert’s commissioner races stand.
