Hillsborough’s Board of Commissioners gather on Monday to interview seven applicants for a vacancy on the board left by commissioner Jenn Weaver’s upcoming appointment as mayor. Since the seat still has two years left on its term, the remaining commissioners must make an appointment rather than hold a special election.

Hillsborough mayor Tom Stevens says he expects the process to be a quick one.

“Our expectation is that we’re going to go through all seven interviews pretty quickly,” he says. “We’ll rely a lot on their written information that is available on the town website for everybody to see.”

Weaver ran unopposed for mayor of Hillsborough after Stevens announced in June he would step down.

The position originally had nine applicants, with two removing their names from consideration. Stevens expects the board to make their decision on the day of the interviews.

“We want to get that appointment done pretty quickly so they can participate in the bi-annual training that happens for newly elected officials,” says Stevens. “There’s a reason for keeping this on track if we can.”

New board members will be sworn in on December 9. A list of applicants including background information is available at hillsboroughnc.gov.