Politics

County GOP expected to name appointee to fill McGrady's seat

By Lightning Reports, Published: September 25, 2020

For the third time in the past 14 months, the Henderson County Republican Party will get the opportunity to nominate a candidate for a vacant seat in elective office — and to hand the appointee the imprimatur of incumbency.

State Rep. Chuck McGrady, who was appointed in July to the state Board of Transportation, said this week that he plans to resign his seat before the board's Oct. 7-8 meeting.

"While it is not clear whether the legislature might be called back into session before the end of the year, my immediate successor will be named by the Henderson County Republican Party since I was elected as a Republican in 2018," McGrady said a newsletter this week.

The local GOP sends its nomination to Gov. Roy Cooper, who must make the appointment.

"The Governor will actually make the appointment, but has no discretion and must appoint the person nominated by the local party as long as that person is otherwise qualified—in other words, old enough, not a convicted felon or other otherwise barred from serving," McGrady said.

The Republican Party is expected to name Tim Moffitt to the seat. A former two-term House member representing Buncombe County, Moffitt is a graduate of West Henderson High School who now lives in the Bearwallow community. He is on the ballot now as the Republican nominee for the House District 117 seat. Moffitt did not respond to a request for a comment on Thursday.

"I don’t know that Tim will be in session," McGrady said. But even if the General Assembly does not convene until newly elected legislators take the oath of office in January, "it will give him a little bit of a heads up and he’ll have access to legislative staff."

"I'm going to Raleigh Friday to close my office," McGrady said earlier this week.

Henderson County Republican Party Chair Merry Guy said she is prepared to call a meeting of the executive committee once McGrady's resignation is official.

“If he were to resign, then it would be incumbent on the District 117 committee to appoint someone to fill that vacancy," she said. "If the dominos fall the way they look like they’re set up to, we would have another vacancy to fill."

The District 117 Committee is made up of officers from the 25 precincts that make up the district, which covers central and northern Henderson County. The Republican Party nominated Jake Johnson to fill the seat vacated by state Rep. Cody Henson in 2019 and named Daniel Andreotta to assume the Board of Commissioners seat made vacant by the death of five-term Commissioner Charlie Messer in July.