Photo by Jason Benavides

Dec. 4. By Dave Yochum. The local election process will draw to a close five months after it began when five commissioners and the mayor are sworn in at the Town Board meeting tonight.

Starting with the mayor: Woody Washam; his wife Sharon will hold the Bible for his fourth swearing in as mayor.

Mayor pro tem: Tradition calls for the highest vote-getter among five commissioners be elected mayor pro tem. There’s no reason whatsoever for that not to happen. Town Clerk Lori Harrell will do the swearing-in honors for Scott Higgins.

Four more commissioners: Robert Carney and Susan Johnson, newcomers to elected office, as well as second-termers Michael Osborne and Todd Sansbury.

Background

Higgins, Johnson, Osborne and Sansbury were part of a slate that aims to “renew the contract with Cornelius” that saw four incumbents go down to defeat in 2021, changing the course of growth.

Going forward

Osborne says the end goal from the 2021 election has not changed.

Osborne

“I’m focused on our quality of life via Managed Growth and improved traffic flow,” he said.

Traffic remains front and center.

“Now that we have a new land use policy, I can focus on improving road congestion. In addition to making incremental improvements, I plan to build out a more regional approach to addressing the issue,” Osborne said. Harrell will also do the swearing-in for Osborne.

The Town Board meeting begins at 6 pm at Town Hall.