Justin Hyde
Editor’s note: This article was updated since first posted to correct the term in office of the appointed individual.
Murphy – The month-long question of whether Justin Hyde would take his seat as a Cherokee County commissioner was answered Monday, when he resigned as commissioner-elect.
Hyde sent out a statement Sunday announcing the resignation. His statement was read at Monday evening’s Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meeting, the one in which Hyde was going to take the oath of office.
Instead, Alan Bryant, also newly elected, took the oath by himself before taking his seat at the board table, taking former commissioner Randy Phillips’ old seat instead of the seat formerly occupied by Jan Griggs, who Bryant defeated in the GOP primary.
Next, Commissioner Cal Stiles nominated Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum to be the new board chairman, seconded by Bryant, and approved on a 3-1 vote. Then Eichenbaum nominated Stiles to be vice chair, seconded by Bryant and approved on a 3-1 vote.
Commissioner Ben Adams, an ally of Griggs (and at one time, Stiles) voted alone against both appointments. He had not offered any nominations of his own and there was no one who nominated him.
Eichenbaum, newly minted as chairman, circled back to the elephant in the room.
“There’s an empty chair,” he observed, before asking Board Clerk Maria Hass about steps necessary to fill it.
In short, the Cherokee County Republican Party Executive Committee is responsible for selecting and recommending Hyde’s replacement, since Hyde was elected as a Republican. Party officials are seeking guidance from Republican Party lawyers in Raleigh about the exact process, but the committee has 30 days to make the choice.
The seat is expected to be filled by the board of commissioner’s next meeting on Jan. 6.
Hyde’s statement
In November, it was announced that Hyde’s position as a county-employed emergency medical technician resulted in a conflict of interest that would preclude him from taking office as a county commissioner as long as he kept his job or unless the board of commissioners approved an exception for him – and only if he had his pay and benefits cut to less than $60,000 per year. Even then, his compensation would be closely scrutinized and publicized, and he would have to recuse himself from voting on many county funding matters.
Hyde spent the next weeks thinking about his options.
On Sunday, he sent an email to various officials including Leighsa Jones, director of the Cherokee County Board of Elections, announcing his decision.
“This email finds me extremely torn but I have to do what is in the best financial interest for me and my family,” Hyde wrote.
“After too many sleepless nights and through tremendous soul searching in an attempt to figure out how to keep my job with Cherokee County EMS and accept the seat of Commissioner District 2, I regretfully have been unable to do so.
“The county has made it very clear that should I be sworn in as commissioner, I will immediately be terminated from a career that I have devoted the last 12 years of my life to.
“My role in a career of public service takes dedication, passion and a genuine desire to make a positive impact on people’s lives everyday and the communities in which I serve.
“Cherokee County residents deserve this deep commitment not only in an emergency situation but also when it comes to critical decisions that affect their lives. Decisions made by local government officials that should include improving, planning, protecting, strengthening and maintaining.
“This decision not taken lightly and with a heavy heart is to inform you I must resign from my newly elected position as District 2 County Commissioner,” he wrote.
Next step
Whomever is appointed will serve two years before the seat comes up for election for the remaining two years, said Leighsa Jones, director of the Cherokee County Board of Elections.
While it is clear that the Cherokee County GOP executive committee takes the next step, less clear is what that process looks like.
Also, if the GOP executive committee fails to make a recommendation within the 30-day window, the responsibility falls to the board of commissioners to fill the vacancy, county officials said Monday.
Dallas McMillian, chairman of the committee, said he is seeking guidance from GOP lawyers, but they are busy with other political issues stemming from the November elections.
“There is law on this we have to follow,” McMillian said. “That’s what we will do. All I know for sure today is that when a county commissioner resigns, the party of that commissioner chooses his replacement. How that choice is made is what I have to learn correctly in the next few days.
“This is unprecedented in my lifetime,” he said. “I’m 59 and have never seen an elected official not take office in Cherokee County. So we have to learn the process first.”
McMillian said the executive committee will receive requests from people who wish to succeed Hyde for the position. The committee will debate the qualities of the applicants and then vote. It is unclear if any of that process would be open to the public, just registered Republicans, or held in secret.
The Scout reached out to the UNC School of Government, the authority for interpreting and advising on state government matters, but did not receive a response in time for this week’s edition.
More information about the process will be reported as it becomes available.
Opening comments
In his opening comments as a commissioner, Bryant thanked his supporters and promised to do the best he can for Cherokee County. He said he was looking forward to working with everybody and hoped they would be on the same page, focus and work hard together. “Pray for us,” he added.
“Buckle up and enjoy the ride,” Adams commented to Bryant.
“Sworn in today, sworn at tomorrow,” Stiles added.
In his opening comments as chairman of the board, Eichenbaum, who replaced former commissioner Randy Phillips as chair, said he expects a good year for Cherokee County and the nation.
He said the board’s priority should be education, adding he is “tired of not being No. 1” and that education should be “Job 1” for the board.
Education is not a brick and mortar issue and should focus on the needs of each group – elementary, high school, etc. – so that they can be educated property and receive a “top notch A1 education” for the citizens and children of the county and for the county to compete educationally with its neighboring counties.
Eichenbaum, who has an MD and is an ophthalmologist, is the most highly educated member of the board and likely in local county government.