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Commissioners opt to let citizens choose successor

 

TRYON—At the Tryon Town Council meeting on Tuesday, January 16, the council announced they will not be naming a replacement for Bill Ingham’s seat before the November elections. Ingham passed away on January 5 at age 72. 

Tryon Town Attorney William Morgan explained at the meeting that it was the council’s decision whether or not to make an appointment to fulfill the final two years of the position. 

“You can leave it open until [the November election], but if it’s to be filled, it will be filled by the sitting members of the board,” Morgan stated.  

However, Mayor Alan Peoples made the council’s point of view clear, saying “The board members decided the smartest thing to do was leave it open and let the general public make the decision who will finish these last two years.”

“Come November, we’re going to have two separate elections,” said Councilman Bill Crowell, referring to the two Tryon Town Council seats that are up for election this year. “At the same time, we’ll have [an election] for Bill’s seat.”

“I think that is fair,” said Councilwoman Chrelle Booker. “It’s fair to the citizens of this town that the citizens decide who they’d like to see, by being elected.”

 Not all in attendance were comfortable with leaving the council seat open for such a long period of time. 

“I feel like that’s an awfully long time. We have a lot to do in a very short period of time,” said Tryon resident Denny Crowe of Tryon. “I don’t want to leave that seat open.”

Mayor Peoples explained that the people of Tryon would soon know who was in the running for the seat. 

“You can file for the seat in July,” Peoples said. “In July, you will know who’s going to file for the seat, and one of those people is going to be elected in November.”

A motion to leave the seat vacant until the November election was passed unanimously. The council emphasized that this decision could be reversed at their discretion.