PITTSBORO — At Monday’s Chatham County Board of Commissioners meeting, Franklin Gomez Flores was sworn in as the Dist. 5 commissioner — replacing Republican Andy Wilkie and officially becoming Chatham’s first Latino representative on the board.
Re-elected Commissioners Mike Dasher and Karen Howard also took their oaths of office.
“I’m really happy to be here,” said Gomez Flores, who is also the first board representative from Siler City in nearly 20 years, at the beginning of his first commissioner’s report. His election also gave the board a fully Democratic makeup.
Dasher was elected by members as the board’s chairperson for the year and Commissioner Diana Hales appointed as the board’s vice chairperson. Commissioner Jim Crawford nominated Dasher and Commissioner Gomez Flores nominated Hales, with both motions passing unanimously. Both Dasher and Hales have previously served in their respective roles — Hales as chairperson in 2018 and vice chairperson in 2019, when Dasher was the board’s chairperson.
During Monday’s meeting, the board also unanimously approved a resolution declaring 2021 the Semiquincentennial of Chatham County, or its 250th anniversary. Prior to the vote being called, there was a short re-enactment of John Brooks, one of Chatham’s first legislators, presenting a resolution to the board. Clad in colonial wear and speaking in an especially formal voice, Gary Simpson, who portrayed Mr. Brooks, read the resolution.
“The current citizens and their County Commissioners desire a year of festivities that illuminate the past, present, and future of Chatham County,” the resolution reads, “and celebrate Chatham County’s nature, community and culture, and desire a way to rejoice in the Creative Arts, Diversity and Community, Growth and Change, Agriculture, and Natural Environment of Chatham County and its citizens.”
During his report, County Manager Dan LaMontagne congratulated the newly sworn-in commissioners and said he would be giving an update to the board on Tuesday regarding the cyber incident that knocked out the county’s network, phone and email Oct. 28. He did not provide any other updates except to say that the county was in “recovery mode.”
Commissioner Howard, who previously served as the board’s chairperson, addressed CCS Superintendent Derrick Jordan’s departure from the district during her commissioner’s report. Jordan will leave his current role in 2021 to join the staff of N.C. Superintendent-elect Catherine Truitt at the state’s Department of Public Instruction.
“We will work together to work together with our school district — and we have one of the best relationships between county and school district,” she said regarding the search for an interim superintendent. “I want to reiterate, first of all, our great loss in losing Dr. Jordan, but our assurance that the school district will find a replacement ... that will meet all of the challenges that lie ahead.”
The board’s next regular session meeting will take place on Dec. 21.
Reporter Hannah McClellan can be reached at hannah@chathamnr.com.