Commissioners Appoint Replacement For Chad Stewart

Richard “Dickie” Braswell. (2018 Photo)

SMITHFIELD – Monday night was the final meeting for Chairman Chad Stewart as a Johnston County Commissioner. Stewart announced last month he was stepping down effective Nov. 30, 2021, a full year before his four-year term expired in Dec. 2022.

Two weeks ago, commissioners agreed to accept applications to fill the vacancy and three people applied: Richard “Dickie” Braswell of Princeton, Gary Wayne Lee of Four Oaks, and Ralph Stewart of Four Oaks.

At the end of tonight’s meeting, Commissioner Ted Godwin said the three candidates had been interviewed and the board received input from the Johnston County Republican Party.

Commissioners and the Republican Party agreed that all three candidates were qualified to fill the vacancy, however, the experience Mr. Braswell had with infrastructure, specifically water and sewer infrastructure, made him stand out.

In a motion by Commissioner Fred Smith, and seconded by Commissioner Godwin, the board voted unanimously to appoint “Dickie” Braswell to the District 1 seat.

County Attorney Jennifer Slusser recommended Mr. Braswell take his Oath as early as December 1st. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting is December 6th. At that meeting, the board will select a new chairman and vice chairman for 2022.

By being sworn in prior to the meeting, Mr. Braswell will be ready to serve as soon as the meeting begins, Slusser stated.

Mr. Braswell ran against Mr. Stewart in the 2018 Republican Primary and lost by less than two dozen votes. Braswell has already announced he would file for election to the District 1 seat in 2022.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Wow no way, totally shocked by this appointment! Lol this was decided before Stewart’s resignation was even official. More of the same…

  2. This will be interesting, will I see the man “Dickie Braswell” that I think I know or the devil I never knew? Maybe he can convince Tony “WRAL” Braswell to leave “The Squad of CRT Cult” and not to feel he has to vote the way his commercial landlord Chad Stewart wants him too in support of the Teachers Union Teachers.

  3. Another nail in the coffin of Joco….just another developer that will want us to be just like Wake and RTP. Of course he will want water and sewer county wide, lots of profits!!

  4. Tax Payers and Parents think about it this away? Now the School Board Chairman Todd Sutton and Mike Wooten are are voting to remove the mask off your kids right, right? They are pretending to be on your conservative side for parents choice right, right. But when these two had the chance to appoint Terry Tippett when he had gotten the most votes not to be elected same as Todd Sutton situation and Mr. Tippett would had voted to remove these masks. They appointed the liberal progressive liberal Al Byrd and now Mike Wooten and Todd Sutton votes with Ronald Johnson knowing these mask are not coming off. You see how these liberal progressive Democrats work now, they think you all are that ignorant.

  5. Would like to know why they got input from the Republican party. Who is giving the nod on that? No vote from what I knew of….

Comments are closed.