It’s official. Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Phillips once again has “Chairman” in front of his name. The Board of Commissioners gave Phillips that honor on a unanimous vote of 8-to-0 at the board’s Thursday, Dec. 5 meeting. The board also made Commissioner Alan Perdue vice chairman on a 7-to-1 vote.
Former Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Alan Branson, who said a few parting words before stepping down, nominated Phillips for the job. Though the vote just took place, the deal that helped make Phillips chairman has been in the works for a long time. Commissioner Skip Alston said earlier this month that that deal goes back to December of last year. Several sources said the decision for Perdue to be vice chairman was much more recent.
Commissioner Kay Cashion was not present and therefore didn’t vote and the only vote that ruined the unanimous Christmas cheer was cast by Commissioner Carlvena Foster, who voted against Perdue being vice chairman.
When Foster was asked later why she voted against Perdue, she said she had hoped to be vice chairman this year. Foster is a Democrat on a nine-member board with a five-member Republican majority, and it’s extremely rare for the county’s board to have a vice chairman who isn’t a member of the majority party.
