ROCKINGHAM — Mayor John Hutchinson requested a vote of the Rockingham City Council to accept the resignation of Councilwoman Anne Edwards after health issues made serving on the council impossible.
Hutchinson, and multiple other members of the council requested prayers from the public for Edwards’ recovery before unanimously approving her letter of resignation and beginning the search for Edwards’ replacement.
“‘Dear Mayor John Hutchinson, it is with great and sincere regret that I have to write this letter. My health has brought me to the point I can no longer fulfill my position an effective city council member. Therefore, I submit my letter of resignation from my position. I thank you for the support, and the opportunity to serve the citizens of Rockingham,’” said Hutchinson, while reading Edwards’ letter of resignation to the council.
Hutchinson first requested the any citizen living within Rockingham city limits that has interest in serving to submit their letters of interest to Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump. Crump would then distribute the letter to the current city council for review and later appoint the interested party, which would serve out Edwards’ remaining term.
“We were all very aware of Anne’s decline in her health. Her ability is very limited at this time. We saw her husband come in and he more or less assisted her, then he faced a very aggressive form of Alzheimer’s, and he passed away two weeks ago. Anne just felt like this was the best thing … Keep her in your prayers,” Councilwoman Denise Sullivan said.
Edwards joined the City Council in 2015, following the resignation of Travis Billingsley, who moved after accepting a job in Atlanta. In 2019, she fined third in a five-way race for three seats with 455 votes to Councilman Deane Bennett’s 537 and Mayor Hutchinson’s 508.
“Anne served this council well, and she’s a good person. In her job, before she retired, she worked for Pee Dee Electric. She was a good representative for them, and she was always very talkative. She had a fall a few years ago, and it seemed to be at that time she started going down hill. If you see her now, Anne is not in too good of health. We desire for you to pray for her. She’s kind of fighting,” Councilman Eugene Willard said.