Rep. John Bell administers the oath of office to newly elected Mount Olive Mayor Pro Tem Delreese Simmons as Simmons mothers watches. (Georgia Dees|mountolivetribune.com)
Rep. John Bell administers the oath of office to newly elected Mount Olive Mayor Pro Tem Delreese Simmons as Simmons mothers watches. (Georgia Dees|mountolivetribune.com)
With a vote of 4-1, Delreese Simmons was elected Mayor Pro Tempore of the Mount Olive Board of Commissioners at its regular December meeting.
Newly elected district 3 commissioner Gena Messer-Knode cast the ‘no’ vote.
Simmons, who represents district 2, is serving his second term on the board and ran unopposed in this year’s election.
All five commissioners and the mayor were sworn in during the meeting.
Before calling for nominations, Mayor Jerome Newton said, “The last time we did this the Mayor Pro Tem was already picked,” and asked if the commissioners had already chosen who they wanted in the role. No one indicated a previous discussion had occurred, and Commissioner Vicky Darden nominated Simmons.
During remarks after the vote, Simmons said he hoped the new board could “come together and not be a four-one board.”
“My thing is … to fight for this town, again, and to continue fighting for it,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Simmons acknowledged “this town is in trouble” and said he hoped the board could work together “to get some things accomplished” and get others in the community to help them resolve some of the current issues the town faces.
Newly elected commissioner Harlie Carmichael, who served as a Mount Olive town commissioner from 2019 through 2023, agreed.
“My purpose is to do the best I can as commissioner at large,” he said. “I’m here to support this town and what we can do as commissioners … for the future, for the children, and our families. That’s what we’re here for. We want to see this town grow and be a town we can be proud of.”
He asked citizens to support the board and urged them to talk to commissioners and the mayor when they had questions or concerns rather than taking their issues to social media. “Don’t go behind someone’s back and beat them up,” he said. “That’s not right.”
Near the end of the meeting, Mayor Newton announced he had talked with commissioners and decided each would be assigned as a liaison with one or more departments of town government. The assignments are:
Simmons – airport and fire
Carmichael – infrastructure management
Weaver – project management of the moratorium
Darden – housing, citizen recognition and staff events
Messer-Node – organizational staff management, including finance and human resources
“So whenever they come to a meeting, not only will they speak about their district, they will speak about the things they’re doing in regard to the town,” Newton said.
He has also established advisory boards for each commissioner to help with their areas of responsibility.
“Each commissioner will have a responsibility to the board as well as to the citizens,” he said. “Everybody will have something to do and will be engaged in the community.”
“As the newly sworn in board, we have an opportunity to change the trajectory of this town, to change the temperature of this town, to change the attitudes of the citizens of this town by being open and communicating with them,” Newton said. “The campaign is over, and now it’s time to get to work.…
“We no longer have the luxury of pointing fingers on past administrations because we are it,” he added. “What happened in the past happened in the past … so we must assess where we are, decide how to move forward and then do it. Our focus should be collaboration as a board, and as mayor I will strive to produce the right energy and atmosphere … to pursue our vision.”
The mayor presented outgoing commissioners Kornegay, Danny Keel and Tommy Brown with plaques recognizing them for their service to the town.
Barbara Kornegay, outgoing Mayor Pro Tem and the longest standing member of the board, did not run for reelection. She thanked everyone who helped her throughout the years, said she was happy she had made the choice to serve the town and wished the new commissioners well.
About 50 people were in the audience, including friends and family members of commissioners being sworn into office.
N.C. Rep. John Bell attended and administered the oath of office to Mayor Newton and to Simmons as he accepted the Mayor Pro Tem role.
