Photo: Seaview Pier, North Topsail Beach
Political Perspective
Since the island is made up of three different towns, each town has their own form of government and political officials. The Town of Topsail Beach has the council-manager form of government (International City/County Management Association et al., 2012). This form of government combines the political knowledge of elected officials (Mayor and Board of Commissioners) along with manager experience of a local manager (Town Manager). The Board of Commissioners is considered the legislative part of the government since they are the ones who make decisions for the community. The mayor, Howard Braxton currently, is a key political leader and policy developer. The Town managers main role is to make policy recommendations to the Board of Commissioners (International City/County Management Association et al., 2012). Surf City’s government is made up of one mayor, whose current mayor is A.D. Guy Jr., and five council members (Town of Surf City, 2013). The government’s motto is: “the elected and appointed officials who serve the community of Surf City are a dedicated group who put serving the public above all else. We are committed to providing exceptional citizen service at all times” (Town of Surf City, 2013). North Topsail Beach states that they have a council and manager form of government but it is different than Topsail Beach (Town of North Topsail Beach, 2013). North Topsail’s council is made up of six members: one mayor, who currently is Dan Tuman, and five aldermen. The mayor serves two year terms and the alderman serves four year terms (Town of North Topsail Beach, 2013).