Longtime Raleigh councilman Gaylord loses race; results open for runoff

Raleigh's City Council will look mostly the same come the new term, but one longtime councilman came up short against his challenger late Tuesday night when the polls closed.

In four of the races, incumbents Corey Branch, Kay Crowder, Dickie Thompson and David Cox easily won re-election, but four-term Councilman Bonner Gaylord trailed communications professional Stef Mendell in Council District E at the end of the night.

Gaylord, who works as managing director of operations for Kane Realty Corporation, pulled in 4,976 votes (45 percent) while Mendell grabbed 5,492 (49.67 percent). Mendell did not reach the 50-percent threshold to avoid a runoff election, and it was not immediately clear if Gaylord would request a second round.

Derek Walked won 524 votes (4.74 percent).

Raleigh's District E encompasses Research Triangle Park to the west and runs north-south from Falls Lake to the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Councilman Russ Stephenson and environmental activist Nicole Stewart topped the seven-person field for the two at-large seats on the council. Stephenson finished with 28 percent, while Stewart had 23 percent, according to unofficial results. Attorney Stacy Miller was the next closest candidate with 16 percent.

Almost 15 percent of registered local voters cast ballots in the election, totaling 61,128 votes.