Johnston County looking for applicants to fill vacant board of commissioners seat
A seat on the Johnston County Board of Commissioners is being vacated at the end of November, and the county governing board is asking interested residents to apply to fill the seat.
County Commissioner District 3, currently represented by Commissioners Chairman Chad Stewart, will be vacant at the end of the month when Stewart steps down to take a job as the general manager of the Johnston County ABC Board.
Under North Carolina law, vacancies on county boards of commissioners are filled by the remaining board members, and must be filled by individuals who belong to the same political party as the commissioner they are replacing, and live in the same district they want to represent.
In order to qualify, applicants who want to replace Stewart must be registered Republicans, and must live in County Commissioner District 3, which covers a large portion of southern Johnston County and includes the towns of Four Oaks and Princeton, said Paula Woodard, clerk to the board of commissioners.
A map of the county commissioner districts is available on the board of commissioners’ website, but applicants should first check with the Johnston County Board of Elections, which can be reached at 919-989-5095, to confirm that they live within the district’s boundaries before they submit an application.
The application, which is also available on the board of commissioners’ website, asks for applicants’ general information, including their current occupation, and asks applicants which civic or fraternal organizations they have participated in, and why want to serve as a county commissioner. Completed applications must also be accompanied by a resume.
Applications can be emailed to Woodard at paula.woodard@johnstonnc.com, or can be mailed or physically returned to the following address: Paula G. Woodard, Clerk to the Board, Johnston County Manager’s Office, Johnston County Courthouse, 207 E. Johnston Street, Room B-206, P.O. Box 1049, Smithfield, NC 27577.
The county manager’s office must receive applications by 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 8, to be considered.
Once applications have been received, they will be forwarded to the board of commissioners, Woodard said in an email.
Three members, Commissioners Larry Wood, Fred Smith and Ted Godwin will then review the applications and consult with the Johnston County Republican Party before making recommendations to the full board, Woodard said.
Woodard said it had not yet been determined how many applications will be submitted for consideration to the full board, or which individuals from the local Republican Party would be involved in reviewing applications.
Commissioners haven’t said when they’ll make a final decision, and when the person selected will be appointed and sworn in. Under North Carolina law, the appointment must be made within 60 days of when the vacancy occurs, Woodard said.
The chairman and vice chairman of the board of commissioners are typically elected by the board at its first meeting, Woodard said.
