RALEIGH – The air on Tuesday was filled with a fine mist or light drizzle throughout much of North Carolina. That seemed about right for an Election Day that seemed gray, slightly moist, and kinda blah.

As it happened, the weather also likely depressed turnout at the polls, which in some communities stayed in the single digits. October 11 was the day for the first “nonpartisan” balloting of the year. In some places, such as the Wilmington mayoral contest, races were settled for good. In others, it was merely a primary winnowing down the field for a November 8 general election.

(In odd-numbered years, it’s also important to remember that we still have a handful of North Carolina cities and towns – Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Albemarle, Kinston, North Wilkesboro, Lincolnton, and Murphy – that stage partisan rather than nonpartisan elections. Their primaries were already held a couple of weeks ago.)

Tuesday’s balloting may not have involved many North Carolinians, but it did generate some interesting news in particular communities:

• In Wilmington, Mayor Spence Broadhurst easily brushed aside a challenge from Harper Peterson, the former mayor Broadhurst defeated two years ago. Peterson’s attempt to marry the concerns of Left and Right about the direction of the city simply misfired. Fiscal conservatives may not be crazy about a tax-funded convention center/hotel complex, but they generally support Broadhurst’s rhetoric on taxes and regulations. Plus, I hear that there is a noticeable improvement in the operation of the city council. Two pro-growth council incumbents were also re-elected.

• The tea leaves form a different picture in Raleigh, where liberal incumbent Charles Meeker coasted to his third term as mayor while adding at least one additional ally on the city council. The result is likely to be stronger support for impact-fee hikes and tax increases. Raleigh had a conservative revolution of sorts more than a decade ago. One result was that the city and county tacked towards fiscal restraint, generating a tax burden significantly lower than in many other urban communities in the state. It appears that this trend may have halted or even begun to reverse. Similarly, in next-door Cary, incumbents generally in favor of tighter growth-control regulations did fine.

• Asheville made perhaps the biggest news of Tuesday evening by turning out its incumbent mayor, moderate Charles Worley, in favor of a general-election showdown between two rather-different candidates, both city council members: Terry Bellamy, the top vote-getter in the primary, who would be the first black female mayor of a major North Carolina city if she prevailed in November; and Joe Dunn, an insurgent conservative who has stressed property rights, taxes, and better communication on council as his issues.

• In Wake County, critics of the school system’s forced-busing approach and other policies appear to have gained a seat on the board of education and could be in position to pick up two more in November, though one run-off is not yet assured. Meanwhile, over in Iredell County, there was little countywide evidence of disaffection with the school systems as voters overwhelmingly approved a $36.4 million bond for the Iredell-Statesville Schools and $8.2 million for the Mooresville district.

Among other race still to be decided in November: a spirited mayoral contest in Fayetteville, a $427 million school bond in Mecklenburg, several competitive but not particularly symbolic council races in key cities, and Pat McCrory’s desperate, come-from-behind attempt to claw his way to reelection as Charlotte’s mayor.

Just kidding, Pat.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.