A group of Guilford County Democrats will convene Thursday to choose a successor for the late Carolyn Coleman on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.
Coleman, a longtime civic activist who had represented District 7 since 2002 and was the board first African American chair, died Jan. 26.
Democrats in her district, which is comprised largely of those in Pleasant Garden and East Greensboro, get to choose who fills out her term. The seat is up for election for a full, 4-year term on Nov. 8.
“For the last 10-11 months of the term – the Democratic party has a vote on Feb 17th from the executive committee members that live in the District 7 precincts,” Guilford County Elections Director Charlie Collicutt wrote in an email. “That’s a party thing, not an election that we handle.
“Once they determine this recommended person, they submit to the county commissioners. If received within 30 days from the vacancy, then the commissioners must take this name.”
At least one candidate, Greensboro attorney Frankie T. Jones Jr., announced he would seek the seat in Thursday’s vote.
Jones sent an email to announce his candidacy on Feb. 7. He serves on numerous public boards and has been chair of the Guilford County Planning & Zoning Commission since 2017.
Collicutt said his office would “run the primary and general like normal to elect somebody to the regular 4-year term, just like we would normally.”
Coleman, who was 79, had filed to seek re-election during the roughly 24 hours the process was open in December before the state Supreme Court stopped it as part of its review of redistricting maps. Filing is scheduled to resume on Feb. 24, and the Primary Election is scheduled for May 17. But those dates are subject to further delay.
Coleman, known as a “firebrand” for her civic protests and 30 years of serving the NAACP’s national board, was elected to the Board of Commissioners in December 2002. She was named the board’s chair in 2005.
The cause of her death has not been disclosed.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel
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