KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) - Kareem Moore has defeated incumbent Don Hardy in the Kinston mayoral election.

Moore defeated Hardy by a vote count of 1,764 to 1,704 (49.8% to 48.1%).

Hardy was first elected as Kinston’s mayor in 2017 after beating incumbent BJ Murphy, who served as mayor for eight years .

Moore is a political newcomer and a Kinston native who says he ran for the seat to change the city.

This comes after candidate Tavaris Moore dropped out of the race last month.

The election also came amid a backlash from some taxpayers after a re-evaluation significantly raised property taxes throughout the city.

In the race for city council, former councilman Sammy Aiken was the top vote-getter for the two at-large seats, followed by newcomer Les Lipford.

In third was Quarla Black

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