The 60-day deadline to fill Eddie L. Wright’s District 5 Vance County Commission Seat is November 9. Archie B. Taylor, Chairman of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, sent a request to the chairman of the local Democratic party asking for the names of individuals good for the position who fulfill the requirements. Betty Boyd, who is the Third Vice Chair and in charge of publicity, told WIZS News, “We met last Thursday night (Oct 15) at Perry Library. Four candidates made a three minute speech. Leo Kelly received the nomination to serve the unexpired term of the late Eddie Wright.”
Vance County Clerk to the Board Kelly Grissom said, “It will go to the board on November 2. If they decide to appoint him, it would be done during that meeting. Then, he would be sworn in during the board’s December 7 meeting.”
The board is not bound by state statute to appoint Kelly, but all indications to date seem to suggest the Vance County Board of Commissioners will accept the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Commissioner Tommy Hester, who is Republican, said, “My personal opinion is, yes, I do expect that, but I’m only one vote. And my vote is to go along with that because that’s up to the Democrats. If that’s the recommendation, I’m going to vote for it. I can only talk for myself. If (Mr. Kelly) is who the Democratic party is recommending, that’s the normal procedure, and that would be who I think we should go with.”
Hester spoke of knowing Kelly for a longtime, his respect for Kelly and that Kelly “is an excellent person.”
Kelly was a longtime Dean at Vance Granville Community College. A news article published by the college in 2009 quotes VGCC’s president at the time, Randy Parker, as saying, “Leo Kelly is the longest-serving full-time employee in the history of our college, and his dedicated leadership has made an enormous difference in the lives of so many people in our communities.”
Whoever is appointed will fill the seat for approximately one year because the district 5 seat was already due for election in 2016 anyway. At that point, if the appointee chooses to run for the seat, he or she will either be elected or defeated by a challenger.
Wright was first elected in 2000. He served on the Granville-Vance Public Health District Board and was a minister of a local church.
Soon after Wright’s death, the news was not as much about this process or who the appointee would be, but rather more about Wright himself. At that time, Taylor said Wright’s death had come as a shock to him as it had to many others. While Wright had suffered from joint ailments for years, no one in the public seemed to expect his death.
Taylor said, “The county is going to feel his abscence. He was a man of great faith and spiritual beliefs, an elder of the church, a pastor and preacher, and he was a champion of the little man. He was definately wanting of a better quality of life for everyone in this county. He was a great advocate for those who didn’t have a voice. He is going to be missed.
“His voice of reason and compassion will be missed. He showed his faith by his work. (Wright) had a very supportive family during this illness. They have been extremely supportive of him and that speaks highly of them and their spiritual values.”
As for the laws governing the appointment to Wright’s seat, Vance County Attorney Jonathan Care provided WIZS News with the North Carolina General Statute. N.C. G. S. 153a-27 essentially means the newly appointed board member must be of the same political party, a resident of the same district, that the board shall consult the county executive committee of, in this case, the Democratic Party and, if an appointment is not made within 60 days, then the appointment is to be made by the Clerk of Court. Neither the board nor the clerk is bound by the Democratic Executive Committee’s recommendation.
