Three people, including a sitting state House member, hope to sway the Senate District 4 executive committee into nominating them for the late Ed Jones’ senate seat.
Interested in the seat are James M. Boone, a former Northampton County resident now living in Nash County, Representative Angela Bryant and Terry Garrison, a Vance County commissioner living in Henderson.
The three Democratic hopefuls have until January 3 to convince the 10-member committee to recommend to Governor-elect Pat McCrory their appointment to the seat.
First Congressional District Chair Don Davis outlined the process today and encouraged the three potential candidates to begin their campaigning, discouraging them, however, from campaigning on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Mary Wells, a Nash County committee member, listens.
The executive committee encompasses two members each from Halifax, Nash, Warren, Wilson and Vance counties.
The executive committee will convene January 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mystique building on Highway 125 outside Roanoke Rapids to recommend a name for the governor to appoint.
“Ed wanted us to move on,” Davis said, explaining the meeting today was to outline what will be a swift process to have a District 4 senator in place when the Senate convenes January 9.
As of the end of the meeting today it is not expected any of the county parties will have a caucus.
The three hopefuls got a chance to introduce themselves near the end of the meeting.
Wells, Jackie Taylor and Chance Lynch listen.
Boone, an associate pastor at Roanoke-Salem Baptist Church in Northampton County, said, “I feel I can bring industry and help grow education. I feel like we need to bring jobs to all the Fourth District.”
A former union representative, Boone said he has experience lobbying Raleigh politicians on job issues, something he did 1974 to 2001. “The priority is education. I believe in colleges and community colleges.”
When education issues are addressed, he said, “Everything else will fall into place.”
Bryant is serving her fourth term in the state house and cast the deciding vote that seated Jones following the death of John Hall. “The most recent victory is the new plant in Enfield,” she said of a sawmill company the governor announced was locating there. “I am a strong advocate and will zealously represent all of you. I will represent the district and the racial makeup of the district. We’re going to need to fight to make the Republicans respect our district.”
Garrison is a six-term county commissioner going into his 25th year. “My primary reason is mainly to serve at the next level of government.”
As a past president of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and currently co-chair of its legislative goals committee, Garrison said, “I can work across party lines, socioeconomic lines and racial lines. I’m about peace.”
