County Commissioner replacement
Chatham County Commissioners Appoint Robert Logan to Serve as Interim District 4 Commissioner James Grant Crawford (D)
On February 7, 2022, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners (BOC) appointed Robert Logan to fill the interim District 4 seat vacated by Jim Crawford on December 31, 2021. Logan will serve until a new District 4 Commissioner is elected in November and assumes office in 2023.
Chatham County Democratic Party Chair Liz Guinan presented Logan as the party’s choice at the February 7th BOC meeting in Pittsboro after considering several other candidates who presented themselves for consideration to the committee.
Logan serves as senior director for the non-profit Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Center’s Eastern Region. He is a former superintendent of Chatham, Lee, and Asheville City Schools; an associate superintendent for N.C. State University’s School of Innovation and Transformation; and a trustee for Central Carolina Community College. Logan has served on the board of directors for the Chatham County United Way and the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation.
“My fellow commissioners and I are thrilled to welcome Robert to the Board, and we are grateful that he stepped forward to serve in this important role as Chatham County continues to grow and evolve,” said Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair Karen Howard. “We look forward to working with Robert as he brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion which will serve our Board and community well.”
There will be a ceremonial swearing in for Logan at the Chatham County BOC’s next meeting on February 21st at the Chatham County Historic Courthouse in Pittsboro.
The Chatham County Democratic Party (CCDP) worked through its internal process to provide a recommendation to the County Board of Commissioners (BOC) as the state law stipulates.
There were three candidates who provided information to the executive committee and addressed the committee at an official CCDP executive committee meeting held via ZOOM on January 27th. The committee took a vote and former Chatham County School superintendent, Robert Logan, was selected as the nominee for the County Board of Commissioners to approve as the replacement to serve out the term of former District 4 Commissioner James Crawford.
“I am very excited about the opportunity,” Logan said. “I do not consider myself a politician, but do feel I can be of benefit to the community.”
Logan was the candidate whom Commissioner Crawford recommended to the County Board of Commissioners on December 20th. Logan was also supported by County BOC Chair Karen Howard, Pittsboro Mayor-Pro Tem Pamela Baldwin, Pittsboro Commissioner John Bonitz, Chatham County School Board member Del Turner and many others.
The last time the Democratic Party went through the commissioner replacement process was in 2014 when it selected Jim Elza to serve out Sally Kost’s term. The Republican Party went through its internal process in 2019 when District 5 commissioner Walter Petty stepped down and the local GOP selected Andy Wilkie to replace him.
Franklin Gomez-Flores narrowly defeated Wilkie in 2020.
Gomez-Flores is up for re-election in 2022.
