Politics

Candidate may become Sen. Edwards before Nov. 8

By Bill Moss, Published: July 23, 2016

Local Republicans are expected to take up the job of appointing a replacement for state Sen. Tom Apodaca now that the Republican National Convention has ended.

Under state law, Gov. Pat McCrory will appoint a replacement recommended by a district committee made up of Republican leaders from the 48th Senate District, which covers three counties.
“That’s what complicates things,” said Henderson County Republican Party chair Glen Englram. “If this were a seat exclusive to one county, it would be a lot simpler.”
The 48th Senate District is made up of Henderson and Transylvania counties and southern Buncombe. The state statute governing the appointment of a person to a vacant seat requires that the formation of a district executive committee made up of members appointed by Republican executive committees from the three counties.
In the case of Buncombe County, only executive committee members who live in the 48th district are eligible to serve on the district committee. District committee members have one vote for each 300 persons in their county that are in the 48th District. Because the Senate district has 191,000 residents, Henderson County, with a population of 110,000 people, would control a majority of the votes on the district committee.
The makeup of the committee is a bigger mystery than its outcome.
“I’m not sure it requires a lot of thought,” Englram said of the nominating committee’s work. “Chuck Edwards is our candidate on the ballot in November. I cannot imagine a scenario where someone else would be put ahead of him. He’s the guy we want to win in November. We agree with Tom and Tom agrees that voters expressed their opinion in March” on the Republican nominee.

In an interview, Edwards declined to endorse himself for the job, urging voters to take time to thank Sen. Apodaca for his work in the Legislature on behalf of Hendersonville and the 48th District. He said he would want to speak with his family, campaign team and party officials before committing to the appointment.
Edwards, a Hendersonville businessman, and school principal Norm Bossert, the Democratic nominee, face off in on Nov. 8.
Henderson County clearly will miss Apodaca’s power, Englram said.
“One thing I’ve found interesting is that people here, regardless of party, are really at least thankful that we’ve had someone like Tom who received such influence in Raleigh, given that he comes from little old Hendersonville.”