Sara Haire Tice was unanimously elected chairman of the Iredell County Commissioners at the newly-elected board’s December 6 organizational meeting. Freshman Commissioner Ken Robertson made the motion to nominate Tice. Godfrey Williams was re-elected Vice-Chairman of the board.

Tice replaced Steve Johnson, who had served as board chairman for the past two years.

While all sources agree that Tice actively sought the job, it is not clear whether or not Johnson stepped down voluntarily. Conversations with several commissioners, and e-mails we have seen, relate different and sometimes contradictory accounts of the communications among the board members. In our view the preponderance of the evidence is that Johnson would have received enough votes to be re-elected had he actively campaigned for the job.

Although the commissioners can elect any member as chairman, the job has traditionally gone to the top vote-getter. Tice ran first in this year’s election; Johnson led the ticket in the 2002 election. Thus if custom is the standard, both had a legitimate claim to the job.

Four times in recent years, the first-place finisher in the most recent election was not elected chairman: Tice in 1990, David Boone in 1992, Alice Fortner in 1996, and Karen Ray in 2000.

Johnson actively supported Tice in the election. He praised her effusively in an advertisement published in this newsletter. Tice finished 627 votes ahead of Ken Robertson, who placed second. Johnson’s efforts likely provided Tice those extra few-hundred votes.

Some observers predict that liberal interests will spin the change in the board chairmanship as a repudiation of Johnson’s leadership and a victory for the school administration. Such is not the case, but it will be the perception of many.

We were the first news source to report the story in an e-mail sent December 4. The Iredell Neighbors ran the news the following day. The Record and Landmark was the last to carry the story.