In a little more than two weeks, Democratic officials in Orange and Durham counties will decide on a replacement for N.C. Sen. Valerie Foushee in the state House of Representatives.
Ted Benson, chairman of N.C. Congressional District 4, said a meeting will be held Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. to officially decide Foushee’s replacement. He said a location for the meeting has not yet been decided.
Foushee was sworn into the Senate’s District 23 seat on Sept. 25, replacing former Sen. Ellie Kinnaird. Her vacated seat in the House is being targeted by five candidates, but selection committee members had not set a schedule for choosing a representative to fill the District 50 seat.
The four committee members will nominate a replacement, who will then be formally appointed by Gov. Pat McCrory.
Benson said there will be no information session held, as was done last month to select Foushee — but he said a questionnaire will be sent out to the candidates, and their answers will be posted on the websites for the Democratic parties in both Orange and Durham counties.
The five candidates are: Orange County Commissioner Bernadette Pelissier; Drew Nelson, a partner at a law firm; 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.
Foushee said in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel on Sept. 30 that she will not endorse a candidate.
“I think that of the five candidates that have identified themselves as possible candidates, all of them are certainly capable,” she said. “Several of them are uniquely qualified, and so I think the committee will have a hard choice.”
Apart from looking for Foushee’s replacement, the Orange County Democratic Party is currently focusing on spreading awareness about school board elections and changes in state election laws, said party chairman Matt Hughes.
