Five people have applied for the recently vacated at-large seat on the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners.

Included are a recent unsuccessful candidate for mayor, a woman who ran for the same commissioner seat in 2007, two people who sought another board vacancy last year and a political newcomer who is a retired Marine and counterintelligence agent.

The five applied for the position formerly held by Mayor Deborah Cochran by a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, with their submissions required to be in writing. Cochran, who has served as at-large commissioner since 2007, was sworn in as mayor last week — with two years remaining for her council seat that was open to residents citywide.

n As expected, Teresa Lewis, who lost the hotly contested mayoral election to Cochran, is one of the applicants. Lewis has owned Workforce Carolina in Mount Airy for 20 years and held a number of leadership positions with community organizations such as the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, Reeves Community Center, the Surry County Economic Development Partnership and others.

n Peter F. Lydens, a retiree, is another applicant for the commissioner vacancy. His 53 years of local government management experience includes once serving as city manager of Mount Airy. He also has earned academic credentials in that field, including a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Michigan. In 2008, Lydens was one of 12 candidates for another board vacancy created with the resignation of Tom Bagnal for health reasons. Jon Cawley eventually was selected for that seat.

n John Pritchard, also a candidate for the Bagnal vacancy, is seeking the latest vacancy as well. A former longtime official in the banking industry, Pritchard has 30 years of experience in “significant financial issues of all kinds,” according to statements submitted with his application. His varied management experience has encompassed construction projects, human resources, planning and budgets. Pritchard frequently attends meetings of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners and often comments on budget expenditures and policies during public forums held at the sessions.

n Twyla Sickmiller is another candidate for the at-large post, which she was a candidate for two years ago. Sickmiller came in third in a three-person primary won by Scott Lowry, who later lost the general election to Cochran. The candidate operates Maxwell House Bed and Breakfast on North Main Street, and has other extensive business experience. It includes hotel management, corporate retail training, motivational speaking and owning her own marketing firm.

n Dennis Williams, the fifth applicant, is a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps who served as a counterintelligence agent. He retired from the military in 1997. Williams additionally has served as a police officer in Winston-Salem and managed Mountain Lumber Co. for almost five years. Also a security consultant, Williams has served as security manager for the U.S. presidential helicopter program for the past five years. His leadership/administrative experience further includes being in charge of 2,200 Marines and a budget of $52 million.

The new commissioner is expected to be selected during a board meeting next Thursday which begins at 7 p.m.

Commissioner Dean Brown, whose motion at another meeting last week led to the majority of the board members approving an open process to name Cochran’s successor, said Thursday that he was “pleased” with the number of people submitting applications.

“It just shows that we will have open government and not do business behind closed doors like they did in the 1880s,” said Brown, who has been transcribing city government records from that era.

There was a movement recently to name Lewis to the seat outright. But Brown and others favored the open system instead, though they applauded Lewis’ long record of community service and leadership credentials.

Brown added that he hopes the same process will be used Thursday as the one employed in 2008 when Cawley was chosen to replace Bagnal. That procedure included each candidate being allotted time to address the board in open session as to their qualifications, which was followed by the commissioners ranking each applicant using a points system.

The applicant receiving the highest total points was selected to fill the commissioner opening.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.