The Guilford County Democratic Party has scheduled an “emergency meeting” of the full County Executive Committee to elect a replacement to the Guilford County Board of Elections for former Board Member Rev. T. Anthony Spearman.

Spearman, a Democrat, recently died at his home under bizarre circumstances – and the local party must now choose someone to fill what is a very important position in Guilford County government.

The battle for the empty Democratic seat on the elections board is a very spirited one with at least a half dozen contenders seeking to assume the spot. One high-ranking official in the local Democratic Party told the Rhino Times this week that the race is up in the air right now but that it’s almost certain Spearman will be replaced by a black person since Spearman was black.

The meeting of party officials will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 6. At that meeting, the local party’s executive committee will elect a replacement to complete Spearman’s unexpired term.

The party leaders will also, at the same meeting, elect a new secretary for the county’s Democratic Party and fill six slots on the State Executive Committee.

Interested candidates for any of the positions were asked to email in a 100-word bio and photo by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 2.

County election boards in North Carolina do extremely important work such as deciding which questionable votes do and don’t count in an election. The boards also determine the outcome of election challenges – such as the one that former Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson brought recently against Guilford County’s $1.7 billion school bond, which won voter approval in the May primary election.