JoCo replaces school board member convicted in extortion trial. Who will fill his seat?
A retired educator will replace a disgraced Johnston County school board member who was convicted of blackmailing a congressional candidate.
During a special session Thursday, the Johnston County school board appointed Jeff Sullivan to the vacant District 7 seat. Sullivan replaces Ronald Johnson, who was removed from the board in January after being convicted of charges of extortion, obstruction of justice and failure to discharge his duties.
Sullivan was an educator in Johnston County for 32 years before retiring in 2022. He was an assistant principal, teacher, coach, and Exceptional Children program specialist.
Sullivan will complete Johnson’s term, which runs until December 2028. Johnson narrowly defeated Sullivan 50.5% to 49% in the November general election.
Three people applied for the vacancy: Sullivan, retired teacher Gracie Wells Chamblee and Thomas Daugherty, a K-12 social studies consultant at the state Department of Public Instruction.
The board interviewed the applicants on Tuesday. On Thursday, Sullivan got five votes and Chamblee received one vote.
“It is most evident that Jeff has a love for Johnston County and a true passion for Johnston County Public Schools,” school board chair Lyn Andrews said in a news release Thursday.
Former JoCo board member convicted of extortion
Johnson’s four-year term was cut short when he was convicted of threatening to release a damaging recording of a congressional candidate in 2022. Johnson said that he could make the recording go away if the candidate could get a woman both men knew to sign a letter recanting that she was having an affair with Johnson.
Johnson was also convicted for trying to hide evidence from investigators, secretly recording school board closed sessions and retaliating against a person by trying to get his kids who have autism transferred to a different school.
Also during the trial, Johnson admitted to having extramarital affairs with three female school district employees.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Crosswhite sentenced Johnson to 6 to 17 months in prison, ordered him to surrender his law enforcement license and removed him from the Johnston County school board.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 9:30 AM.
