Foushee to be sworn in today

Valerie Foushee will be sworn into the N.C. Senate at 2 p.m. today following her official resignation from her N.C. House of Representatives seat — as five candidates vie to replace her as representative.

Foushee hand-delivered her resignation letter to the House clerk and the N.C. Democratic Party on Monday. Judge Beverly Scarlett will swear Foushee into office at the Chatham County Courthouse after her resignation takes effect at noon.

Foushee, who represented Orange and Durham counties in the N.C. House, was nominated Sept. 8 to fill Ellie Kinnaird’s vacated N.C. Senate seat, which serves Orange and Chatham counties.

Foushee’s campaign manager, Evan Degnan, said Foushee will begin a five-stop tour in mid-October through the district to meet her new constituents and propagate her name.

He also said she wants a progressive, well-qualified Democrat to take her place. Once the candidate is appointed, he said Foushee will serve as a mentor to the new representative and help him or her adjust to House committees and plan re-election.

Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Matt Hughes said five people have submitted their names for consideration. There is currently no date set for the selection committee to make its final decision.

Bernadette Pelissier and Drew Nelson, the two most recent candidates to enter their names into the running, join Tommy McNeill, the owner of a medical supply company, Graig Meyer, an administrator for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and Laurin Easthom, a Chapel Hill Town Council member.

Nelson, a partner at the Willis Johnson and Nelson law firm and a father of a 3-year-old girl, said the N.C. General Assembly has very few members with young families.

“My top priority is to be a progressive, strong voice for folks with young kids,” he said.

Nelson said his platform is based on three objectives — opposing legislation that further reduces teacher salaries or cuts the education budget, allows fracking or infringes upon voting rights.

“As an attorney, I deal with the adversarial world every day,” he said. “I have clients who are often the underdogs — I think that’s where the Democratic Party is right now.”

Pelissier, an Orange County commissioner, said she has a long history in public service that many other candidates lack.

She wants to focus on creating job incentives and work to overhaul education policies and communication between the community and legislators on bills being passed.

But Pelissier said her campaign is about more than just her experience and what she hopes to work on in the future.

“My children were both born and raised in this county. My daughter and her kids live in District 50 — it makes you be very vested in what happens for the future,” she said.

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