Barry Nelson Dean is the new mayor of the City of Morganton.
After the death of City of Morganton Mayor and Tri-State Christian Center Co-paster Michael England Sunday, September 19, the vacancy was advertised, and qualifying took place last Friday, October 1.
At the end of the qualifying period, Elections Superintendent and Assistant City Clerk Renita Fair confirmed that Dean was the only person to qualify, so as a result of him going unopposed, he is the new mayor.
Of the late mayor, Assistant City Clerk Jane Newton said, “Not only as mayor, but his humanitarian work as a pastor will be very missed.”
In addition, his obituary in today’s newspaper reads, “Mike wore a lot of hats, but the one he loved the most was for the Word of God! He spent hours pouring over The Bible.”
England was a regular columnist for The News Observer’s Religion section. His obituary appears on page B5 today.
Any questions about the election may be directed to city hall at 706-374-5770.