By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
jonathan@wdnweb.com
Staff Writer
At least six people have stepped forward to claim their interest in replacing state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who will resign his post effective Tuesday.
Of these possible candidates, four are from Dare County, one resides in Elizabeth City and one lives in Washington.
The declared Washington hopeful is outgoing state Rep. Arthur Williams, D-Beaufort, who was the beneficiary of a crowded show of support Saturday at a local Democratic meeting.
“I’ve got a lot of support in the county, and I think it’s really important that we all stay united through this process,” Williams said Saturday.
Williams’ office was won by state Rep.-elect Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, in the past general election.
The Elizabeth City contender for Basnight’s position is Matt Wood, a former Pasquotank County commissioner who also has served on that county’s school board.
The Dare County seat-seekers are defense attorney Kathryn Fagan, small businessman Paul Tine, former Dare County Commissioner Stan White and current Dare County Commissioner Virginia Tillett.
In a series of interviews with the Washington Daily News, all of these candidates confirmed they are interested in taking Basnight’s place.
Other candidates’ names had been mentioned publicly and privately, but the Daily News was unable to confirm those candidates’ interest in the job.
Other candidates mentioned before had taken themselves out of the running or apparently had fallen behind in the rush to secure pledges from the 14 delegates who will select Basnight’s replacement.
The senator’s replacement will be selected at 6:30 p.m. Friday in a meeting of the Democratic Party’s state Senate District 1 executive committee.
The nominee anointed by this committee will be appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue once Basnight steps down.
Fagan said she wants to rise to the Senate so she can secure changes in the law, including criminal law. For instance, she doesn’t think 16- or 17-year-olds should be prosecuted as adults.
“I would like to see people actually acknowledge that people accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty,” she asserted, adding that criminal background checks by would-be employers should reveal convictions alone, not pending charges.
Tine, age 39, indicated his youth and business experience give him an edge.
“I really think that, with the right policy and the right partners across the state, we can really start building the infrastructure that we need to really help the northeast move forward,” he said.
Wood also pointed to his background as a mark in his favor. He mentioned time he spent as a district representative with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, a lobbying and support entity.
“I’ve already worked regionally and statewide in that capacity,” Wood commented.
White said his years of public service, as a county commissioner and as a member of the N.C. Board of Transportation, have left him well prepared to work in the Senate.
“I think that I’ve got the most experience for anybody, and certainly I feel like I have a better rapport with the elected officials, certainly in seven of the eight counties (in the Senate district), just because of my DOT responsibilities,” he stated.
Asked why she’s the best person for the job, Tillett nodded to her resumé.
The resumé notes Tillett was on her county’s school board for 20 years, five of them as chairwoman and eight as vice chairwoman. She is a member of the commissioners’ association’s legislative goals committee.
Basnight has declined to endorse a potential successor.