WENDELL - Wendell's election was guaranteed to bring new faces to the town board, but voters decided change was needed in all the available seats and elected a new mayor as well.

New commissioners Sam Laughery and James Parham will replace Sid Baynes and Carol Hinnant, neither of whom ran for re-election.

Tim Hinnant will retake the mayor's chair, replacing Harold Broadwell, the man who replaced him when Hinnant chose not to run again after serving one term as mayor from 2003-2007.

Baynes, Carol Hinnant and Broadwell all shared one four-year term, but the relationship between the commissioners and mayor turned acrimonious within the first two years.

The conflict reached its peak after the 2009 election of Ira Fuller, Christie Adams and Ginna Gray.

After the new commissioners were sworn in, they passed the Making Wendell Better initiative, which asserted state laws and the town charter give only the five town commissioners responsibility for governing the town.

The plan put duties that had been the responsibility of the mayor, such as assigning business to committees, in the hands of the Mayor Pro Tem Carol Hinnant, who was elected to the post at the same meeting.

What followed was two years of at times tense board meetings, with occasional bouts of unrestrained animosity among the officials.

Laughery said he believes that once the new officials take their seats, the board can leave those troubles in the past.

"We just have to be civil. We do not have to agree on everything, but we don't need to air our dirty laundry in public," Laughery said.

"The board members and the staff are all friendly; I think we'll be able to work with each other. Everyone I've talked to, in all honesty, thinks that's critical."

Laughery said he doesn't see the need to make a splash from the moment the new officials take their seats, but he intends to stick with his campaign concerns to make sure the town does everything it can to support existing Wendell businesses and that the town is competitive when development begins to grow again.

"We have 125 to 130 businesses in Wendell. We need to do everything we can to support them," Laughery said. "We lost the bakery downtown. We can't afford to lose any more."

"Since development is not kicking off yet, we need to make sure when it does, we can be competitive."

Laughery said he wants to allow the commissioners a chance to get in tune with one another before he pushes specific issues.

"I'll play it by ear, and when it's appropriate we'll kick off (these projects)," Laughery said.

Parham said he is thankful the citizens of Wendell elected him to the board. "I am really, truly appreciative of their support," Parham said.

Parham said the first step to moving the town forward has been taken by the voters in selecting their representatives.

"I think the town was moving in the right direction, just at a snail's pace. It could've moved faster if people were working together."

Parham said he and the officials that make up the new board will be team players.

"If I need to give up something to move us forward, I will. And I think the other commissioners will too."

The next step will be making a plan of action for addressing town issues.

"When I got my superintendent degree, I was told, 'Don't go in making changes.' You have to look, listen and learn," Parham said.

"There are things that should be addressed. We've talked economic development a lot, and it certainly should be addressed early on. We need to continue to focus on the downtown. It is the nucleus of what makes Wendell go."

The one issue Laughery said the board might look at sooner than later is the powers the mayor normally held.

It's an issue the new mayor said he would ask the commissioners to consider but wouldn't advocate for.

Hinnant said that at the first town meeting he presides over, he will ask the commissioners how, or who, they want to handle the duties that were handed over to the mayor pro tem, since the board also will have to select a new mayor pro tem.

"I'll let the new town board decide for themselves," Hinnant said.

"I do know the mayor is the ambassador for Wendell," Parham said.

Parham said there are duties the mayor normally handles that could be shared with the mayor pro tem, but he will decide what works best once the new board and mayor are seated.

Hinnant said he doesn't perceive any problems with the new board members or the existing commissioners, and he doesn't plan to "mayor" any differently in his second term than he did in his first.

Hinnant said the best way to create a positive atmosphere is to show his colleagues respect.

"I hope as a board we can show respect to each other and move forward in a positive manner and bring some sense of proper decorum to meetings," Hinnant said.

He said he does have issues he would like to get started as soon as the elected officials are seated. He intends to ask the commissioners and interim Town Manager Teresa Piner to make it a priority to fill the Economic Development director position. "I'm also going to ask the commissioners to consider setting up an advisory committee for economic development that includes persons in our community with the experience to help with economic development," Hinnant said.