ROANOKE RAPIDS — Suetta Scarbrough won big over incumbent Ed Deese Tuesday to complete the challengers’ sweep of incumbents in the city’s municipal elections. Scarbrough won by a large margin, taking 75 percent of the vote.

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“I feel very humbled,” Scarbrough said after the results. “I’m very grateful for the amount of support.” The actual vote count gave Scarbrough 931 votes and Deese 313.

Scarbrough, a retired educator, knows this new challenge will require a lot of learning. “I’ve never been on City Council before,” she stated. “I won’t really know what to expect until I go through the training.”

Despite her lack of experience, Scarbrough has a clear vision as to Council’s role. “The Council and the mayor set policy,” she said. “The city manager then enforces that policy.”

Scarbrough believes she and her fellow council members should keep their eyes on policy. “I want annual reviews of all policies to make sure they’re current and enforced,” she said. “The city council and the city manager have to work together very closely.”

The new council member also believes police salaries should be reviewed. City staff just completed a pay study for the police department. Scarbrough is concerned about the low police pay and wants to know more about pay scales throughout the city.

Certainly new challenges await Scarbrough, but on Tuesday she was eager to celebrate her win and to give thanks to her staff. “I appreciate the support I got from the constituents,” she said. “And my thanks go out to my workers.”

Suetta Scarbrough takes her seat on City Council at the first regular meeting in December, currently scheduled for Dec. 8.