Plymouth’s Maritime Museum hosted a special two-night event that officially introduced voters to the candidates and their positions as the 2025 municipal elections commence.
Hosted by the Washington County Think Tank coalition, both nights provided an informative forum for local voters to get to know the 17 candidates on the ballot ahead of Thursday’s early voting process.
Moderated by Williamston’s Patricia Smith on Tuesday and Wednesday night, the event tasked candidates with outlining their priorities, identifying the towns most pressing issues and laying out their visions for what Plymouth may look like, if elected.
Despite this opportunity, not all of the candidates on the ballot participated in the event, as only nine of the 17 participated in last week’s events.
The following is a showcase of those that attended and their responses:
Mayoral Race
Tuesday night’s event kicked off with candidates running in the mayoral race. According to moderator Smith, contender Crystal Davis was a no show for the forum due to illness, leaving incumbent Brian Roth and newcomer, and Beulah Land proprietor, Mark Sexton to answer questions and formally introduce themselves to their potential constituents.
As per the moderator’s rules, both Sexton and Roth were given three minutes to introduce themselves, three minutes to answer questions and three minutes for their closing remarks at the end of the session.
As the lesser-known quantity, Sexton introduced himself first, citing his long family history within the town, his visible role as the owner of Beulah Land and his frustrations with current leadership as his rationale for joining the race.
“I have been pulled into this race because I have been disgusted by the way that some developers have been treated here in Plymouth by our Town Council,” Sexton began. “And I’ve joined because of the ineptness of our current Mayor to get results that would push our growth forward. I’m determined to stay in this until the end, despite a lot of my own friends and family cautioning me about trying to unseat Roth... and Miss Crystal isn’t here tonight, but she needs to respond to some of these criticisms.”
Sexton added that despite his newness to politics, he was a pro business candidate, willing to learn, and a unifier of diverse personalities.
For his part, Roth needed little introduction, citing his US Naval service and his time spent overseas as contributing to his world- liness and his ability to work well with others.
In contrast to Sexton, Roth stated that he was purposely representing his candidacy without harsh rebuke and criticisms for others in the races.
“I don’t have any criticisms tonight. I try not to have any criticisms at all, at any time,” Roth began. “We’ve got such an amazing future if we pull together, and we have a proven track record of economic development, something I’ll talk a little bit more about as we go through the evening.”
The first question concerned the candidates’ plans for economic growth over the next four years and what immediate actions they would personally take to facilitate that growth if they were elected.
Roth spoke first, touting the strides that the town has already made under his leadership in helping bring businesses and new opportunities into town limits.
“We don’t give ourselves enough credit for the strides we’ve already achieved...in the last 24 months,” he said.
Roth went on to specifically identify the arrival of the Dollar General Marketplace, a new venture for the corporation and one that has made Plymouth a testing ground for public feedback.
Roth continued, identifying other prominent places of business that have arrived over the last few months, including Royal Farms, a reopened DMV License facility and new businesses that have opened up downtown on Water and Washington Streets.
“A lot of credit for those things goes to our Plymouth Downtown Development Association, and our town council,” Roth urged. “We have a very proven track record of economic development, but we don’t give ourselves or the community enough credit for it...”
