KENLY - Former mayor David Grady trounced incumbent Herbert "Tooie" Hales, 61 percent to 39 percent. On the Town Council, incumbent Mark Smith won a fourth term, and newcomer Bonnie Williamson was elected to fill the seat of Scott Turik, who didn't seek re-election.

Throughout his campaign, Grady, who owns The Insurance Shoppe in Smithfield, stressed the need to rein in the town's spending. He said he's ready to get the budget in order.

"I think the voters sent the message that we need to look after our money," Grady said. "We're going to have to put the Town of Kenly on 'The Biggest Loser.' It can be anything from contracts to personnel -- whatever it takes, we're going to have to make some significant cuts in what we're spending."

Grady also said his win reflected the amount of effort he put into campaigning. He personally contacted 185 households, he said.

"I tried to make about 30 or 35 contacts a day for five days," he said.

Hales blamed a low turnout for his loss, noting that many of the people he contacted didn't make it to the polls and that he doesn't think the issues in the campaign were a factor.

"I guess I probably should not have assumed that more people were getting involved in this community," Hales said. "A lot of the same old guard were the ones that voted. That's where [Grady] did strongly."

Hales is unsure whether he'll run for office again. "Until more people are ready to get involved in the town, I'll probably just sit on the sidelines and watch for a while," he said.

In the council race, Grady said he thought many voters who chose him also voted for Bonnie Williamson, an administrative assistant at Manheim North Carolina. Williamson is a lifelong friend who has similar concerns about Kenly's finances, Grady said.