As Commissioner Mark Dorosin prepares to vacate his seat, the Board of Orange County Commissioners are planning to fill it through an application process.

During the board’s final meeting ahead of a summer break on June 15, the board approved a method to select a replacement for Dorosin’s seat. Interested residents from District 1, which consists of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will fill out an application and submit it through the Clerk to the Board. According to Orange County, the application will be shared with the public and posted on the government’s website in late June.

Dorosin, who won re-election to his District 1 seat in 2020, recently accepted a teaching position at Florida A&M University’s College of Law and will move to Florida. As a District 1 representative in the Democratic Party, the person selected as Dorosin’s replacement must also reside in District 1 and be of the same political party.

The application to fill the vacant seat will have a deadline of 5 p.m. on Monday, July 19, according to the Orange County government. Once submissions are closed, applications will be sent to the Orange County Democratic Party, which will nominate up to three candidates for consideration.

The Board of Commissioners will vote by ballot during its September 2 business meeting based on the applications. A release from the county government said the board could consider the nominees submitted by the local Democratic party, but it could choose someone else from the applications.

Since Dorosin’s seat is not up for re-election until 2024, the board’s selection of a replacement will fill the seat until December 1, 2022. During those county commissioner elections, the seat will be up for a two-year term before reverting to a four-year term in 2024.

Dorosin’s final day on the Board of Orange County Commissioners will be July 31. The board unanimously passed a resolution on June 15 commending the commissioner for his service since assuming the role in 2013.

Dorosin called the resolution a very “humbling” gesture by the board.

“This was a very tough decision for me and my family to make,” he said after the resolution was read. “We’ve been in North Carolina for 30 years and certainly the work we’ve been able to do together on the board has been transformative for the community.”

“It’s been challenging work, but it’s been very meaningful work and I do appreciate the time and energy that all of you, the staff put in,” Dorosin added. “On the one hand, it’s really exceeded my wildest expectations and on the other hand, there’s so much more I wish I could been able to do and help us do.”

 

Photo via the Orange County government.

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