New Hanover County Commission Chairman Ted Davis Jr. may get an early or
brief taste of the state House position he is seeking after being nominated to
serve as a temporary replacement in the seat recently vacated by Rep. Danny
McComas, R-New Hanover.
The New Hanover County Republican Party nominated Davis on Thursday, Sept.
13, chairwoman Rhonda Amoroso said.
The nomination was to be sent to Gov. Bev Perdue, who will then have seven days
to approve the recommendation, or it passes automatically.
Davis was the only
nominee, and his name was granted enough approval by the approximately 60 Republican
party members at the meeting from the old House District 19 McComas had
represented, Amoroso said.
The 2012 election reflects
redistricting changes – which are made about every 10 years – to the state
House and Senate districts since the 2010 Census count.
Davis, a Republican and Wilmington divorce attorney, was running against Kure
Beach Town Councilwoman Emilie Swearingen, a Democrat and longtime teacher, for
the House District 19 seat in the
November general election.
News of Davis’ name being
considered for the nomination surfaced earlier in the week. When asked about it
Swearingen questioned having a current candidate fill the position.
“The most honorable thing
they could do is select a placeholder, someone who is not running, who would
just be there for us if there’s an emergency,” Swearingen said Monday, Sept.
10. “The Legislature has adjourned for the year.”
Davis also spoke earlier
in the week about the possibility of being nominated, saying that would offer
an early learning opportunity.
“If I get this appointment
and I’m sworn in as a member of the House I will have an opportunity to go to
Raleigh and start learning the ropes as far as who are the people I need to
know and what the processes are,” Davis said Tuesday, Sept. 11.
Davis, who began serving as a county
commissioner in 1996, addressed concerns
with leaving the commission early, saying he would only miss four meetings and
that the most pressing current issue – a solid waste contract with Covanta
Energy – was put on the fast track and on the agenda for the Monday, Sept. 17
meeting.
McComas,
who had served New Hanover County in the state House for about 18 years, had decided
earlier this year against running for re-election. His term runs through 2012,
but he recently resigned after being named a new chairman of the North Carolina
State Ports Authority Board of Directors.
Meanwhile, the New Hanover
County Republican Party will call another executive meeting for recommendations
to fill Davis’ seat in the commission once he resigns to be sworn in the House,
Amoroso said.
“It’s a domino effect,”
she said.
