ROCKINGHAM — Former chief district court judge Scott Brewer has been chosen to serve out the remainder of former Rep. Ken Goodman’s term in the House District 66 seat, defeating Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio Blue and candidates from Stanly and Montgomery counties in a vote by the Democratic Executive Committee Tuesday evening.
Brewer, who retired from serving as chief district court judge for Judicial District 16A on Nov. 30, 2018, was sworn in Wednesday afternoon as the representative for District 66, according to Cynthia Wallace, chair of the Democratic Party for the 9th Congressional District. He replaces Ken Goodman, who resigned from the seat on April 18 after being nominated to the North Carolina Industrial Commission in February and following unanimous votes in the House and Senate.
Brewer could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He will now have the option to run for a full term in the seat in 2020.
“I wish him well and I wish that he serves the party well,” Blue said Wednesday.
The candidates made their case before the party in a private forum Monday evening at the Richmond County Judicial Center. Crystal Morrison, chair of the Richmond County Democratic Party, said Wednesday that the consensus of the vote was “fair”.
“I feel like Mr. Brewer is a suitable candidate for the appointment and do have confidence that he will do what he says he is going to do for the county and represent his constituents in the proper way,” Morrison said. She added that in his remarks in the private forum, Brewer stated his support for health care reform and Medicaid expansion.
The candidates to fill the seat were Brewer and Blue for Richmond County, former Stanly County Commissioner Martha Sue Hall for Stanly County and Tony Charpentier for Montgomery County. Brewer received 84.6 percent of the vote, while Blue received 12.9 percent, Hall 2.5 percent and Charpentier — who was not present — received no votes, according to Doug Wilson, deputy executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party.
The voting members were Preston Waddell and Lois Jones representing the Richmond County Democratic Party, Sam Martin and Roy Hudson representing Montgomery County, and Ivonia Mills and Lisa Burris representing Stanly County, according to Wilson.
Because Richmond County is the most populous of the District 66 member counties, it’s representatives’ votes carry extra weight. The weight of the votes is determined by the county’s 2010 population divided by 300, according to Section 3.09 of the N.C. Democratic Plan of Organization. In 2010, Richmond County’s population was 46,625, therefore Richmond County’s two votes counted for 155.
Montgomery County’s two votes counted for 93 and Stanly County’s for 27. If the two representatives voted for different candidates, they would send exactly half their votes to the candidate of their choice, according to the Plan of Organization.
Vickie Daniel, clerk of Superior Court, said she had been aware of Brewer’s intent to run for the seat for months and called him a “true friend”.
“I have worked with Scott Brewer for 32 years from the time he was an assistant district attorney until he retired as our chief district court judge. Scott Brewer has always been dedicated and loyal to the judicial system,” Daniel said in a statement. “With his training, background and experience he will be an asset to the legislature. He will represent the people of Richmond, Montgomery and Stanly counties well.”
Commissioner Tavares Bostic called Brewer’s appointment a “good move” for the party and state going into 2020.
“(Brewer) has a sound understanding of the hard issues that impact rural counties like ours and I believe his background in law will serve him well in Raleigh,” Bostic said in a text. “Special thank you is in order for the members of the appointment committee and our county chair. It landed in their laps and they handled everything with grace and fairness.”