Jack Best nominated for county board seat
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on April 12, 2004 2:00 PM
The Wayne County Democratic Party has nominated Jack Best to replace former County Commissioner Ken Gerrard, who stepped down recently.
The commissioners were formally notified of the nomination in a letter from party Chairman Larry Jones, received after the county board's meeting last week.
Best
The nomination may go before the commissioners on April 20, County Manager Lee Smith said. Smith will meet with commissioners Chairman J.D. Evans on Wednesday to talk about the agenda for next week's meeting.
The county board is not obligated to approve the party's nomination. Any commissioner may nominate a replacement for Gerrard. The board is currently split 3-3 by Republicans and Democrats.
If they cannot agree on a choice, state law gives Clerk of Court Marshall Minchew, a Democrat, the power to appoint the replacement.
Whoever is approved by the commissioners for the seat would serve until December, the end of Gerrard's unexpired term. The seat will be on the ballot in November. The filing period for all seven county commissioner seats begins April 26 at noon.
Best, a member of the Walnut Creek Village Council, announced he planned to file for the county commissioner seat earlier this year. He has retired as president of Best Distributing Co. after working in the family business for 39 years.
He said being a businessman has given him experience and an ability to make tough decisions. He is still a partner in Best Commercial Development, but he said that will not prevent him from devoting the time required of county commissioners.
If elected to the county commissioner board, he said, he would try to make decisions that would benefit the entire county, rather than merely his district.
Best and his wife, Ellen, have three children: Mary Hope Crocker, a teacher at Rosewood Elementary School; Munroe Best of Goldsboro, marketing manager for Best Distributing Co.; and Eleanor Scott Best, a student at Wake Forest University. Best is a member of First Presbyterian Church.