Pate, Gurley to lead board
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 6, 2016 9:57 AM
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners have a new chairman and vice chairman, as commissioners Bill Pate and Joe Gurley were elected to the respective positions Monday morning.
Pate had been serving since last December as vice chairman. Joe Daughtery had served as chairman.
Commissioners met Monday instead of their usual meeting time today because of a state law that requires newly elected county commissioners to take their oath of office on the first Monday in December following the November election.
All seven board members were unopposed in the November election.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, County Attorney Borden Parker asked for nominations for chairman.
Commissioner Ray Mayo nominated Pate.
He was the only nominee for chairman and was unanimously elected.
Pate took over the meeting and asked for nominations for vice chairman.
Gurley was nominate by Commissioner Wayne Aycock.
Commissioner John Bell was nominated by fellow Democrat Commissioner Ed Cromartie.
Bell and Cromartie voted for Bell.
Gurley, Aycock, Pate, Mayo and Daughtery voted for Gurley.
In his comments at the end of the meeting, Cromartie said he looked forward to working with the new chairman and vice chairman.
Cromartie said he had nominated Bell because he thought that the board's leadership needed to reflect the political and racial makeup of the county.
Bell and Cromartie are both black. The other five board members are white Republicans.
Pate, who represents District 5, is entering his second four-year term on the board.
He is a Pikeville native and a graduate of East Carolina University. He and his wife, Linda, a retired teacher, have a daughter.
Pate, 59, retired from the N.C. Employment Security Commission with 33 years of service ending his career as manager of the Goldsboro office.
Gurley was first appointed to the District 4 board seat in July of 2014 by commissioners following the resignation in April of that same year of Steve Keen.
Since the vacancy occurred within the first two years of a four-year term, the final two years of the term that ended this month had to be decided by an election.
Gurley ran unopposed in that special election held in November of 2014.
A native of the Oakland community, Gurley, 56, has more than 36 years of service with Wayne County.
He retired in May of 2014 as Office of Emergency Services director, having spent more than 25 years in that department.
Gurley is a 1977 graduate of Rosewood High School. He and his wife, Dana, have two daughters.