Deborah Cochran, who holds the at-large seat on the board, will assume the post of mayor, an office she won in the November general election. That means she will vacate the commissioners seat she has held for two years.
There has been some talk about installing Theresa Lewis in that seat. Most of you already know Lewis lost a well-fought, close election to Cochran, after having finished first in the October primary which narrowed the filed to Cochran and Lewis.
The commissioners meet Thursday where, presumably, Cochran will take the oath of her new office and tender her resignation from her old commissioner’s post. Already the board has discussed filling the vacancy, with some board members campaigning quite openly to install Lewis in the seat since she finished second in the mayor’s race. Others have cited what they call a precedent set when the last vacancy occurred, when the board accepted applications from the community then voted on who to install in the position from those applicants.
Apparently there really has been no precedent set. At times in the past the board has simply considered a name or two, without accepting public input, before filling such vacancies, while at other times going the open application route.
We hope the board will choose the latter in this instance.
As we have said in addressing this issue previously, that hope is not opposition to Lewis. After an exhaustive application and selection process, assuming Lewis asks for the seat, the board may determine she is the best fit to represent the city residents on the board.
But commissioners cannot know that unless they open up the process and accept applications from anyone interested in filling the position. That is the most effective way to ensure the best representation for the residents of Mount Airy, and the commissioners should hold that – offering the best possible representation to their constituents — as their top goal.
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