The mayor of a small North Carolina town has died from COVID-19, according to a town official.
Oak City Town Clerk Vonetta Porter said Mayor William Stalls died on Sunday, WITN reported Monday. Mayor Pro Tem Sue Harrell, who will be sworn in as acting mayor at next month’s commissioners’ meeting, says Stalls had been in the hospital for three weeks.
Stalls had 43 years of service with Oak City Fire & EMS, currently serving as an EMT as well as treasurer. He had been mayor of Oak City for 10 years, according to WITN.
Harrell said Town Commissioner Joey Brown died from the virus in July 2020. A notice on the town's website showed a town meeting scheduled for Aug. 2 was cancelled because of what the statement termed “a high amount of COVID-19 cases within the town, including board members.” In addition, the town hall is closed to the public until further notice, the statement said.
Stalls was re-elected as mayor of Oak City in 2019, garnering 44.2% of the vote on a non-partisan ballot. In July, Stalls had filed for re-election again, seeking to retain his post.
Oak City is located in Martin County and is about 90 miles east of Raleigh.
WUNC’s Mitchell Northam contributed to this report.
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