Haw River’s former mayor Kelly Allen took over the leadership of Alamance County’s commissioners this week in what proved to be a relatively peaceful transition of power for the county’s often fractious governing board.
Allen had served as her hometown’s elected mayor until just over a year ago when the local Republican party tapped her to fill a vacancy on the board of commissioners.
Although technically the board’s junior-most member, Allen was nevertheless able to leverage her prior experience as mayor to take over the gavel on Monday when the commissioners doled out their leadership roles for the coming year.
“I want to get back to running really smooth efficient meetings,” the newly-named chairman declared before she adjourned that morning’s proceedings, “and I will be more prepared at the next meeting.”
Allen ultimately won the unanimous support of her colleagues to take over the chairmanship from John Paisley, Jr., whose faltering health has recently raised questions about his long-term ability to serve on the board. Currently bound to a wheelchair, Paisley took part in the board’s two previous meetings from home due to his limited mobility. On Monday, however, he put in an in-person appearance to formally give up the chairmanship while reassuring the public of his intention to remain on the board of commissioners.
“I feel the chair involves a lot of items including but not limited to ribbon cuttings that I’m not able to do,” the outgoing chairman conceded at the start of that morning’s hour-long gathering. “But for what I have – a neurological issue – they just prescribed a new medication, which is experimental…So, at this point, I’m looking forward to continuing to serve as a county commissioner but not as chairman.”
Paisley went on to nominate Allen to take over as the board’s new chairman, which the rest of the board unanimously accepted after some squabbling over the proper procedures for this appointment. That done, the group gave their unanimous nod to commissioner Steve Carter’s continued role as the board’s vice chairman.
The seats held by both Allen and Carter will appear on the ballot in 2026.
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