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Beaufort County Council swears in three members and elects Alice Howard chair, Tab Tabernick vice chair
Summary
At a meeting held at the Oak Hill office ceremony, Probate Judge Heather Galvin administered oaths to three newly elected council members. Councilwoman Alice Howard was elected chair by a 6-5 roll-call vote; Tab Tabernick was chosen vice chair by acclamation.
Beaufort County Council on the dais at the Oak Hill office ceremony administered oaths to three newly elected members and elected new leadership for a two-year term.
Probate Judge Heather Galvin administered the oath of office to Gerald Dawson (District 1), York Glover Sr. (District 3) and Logan Cunningham (District 7) before the council proceeded to elect a chair and vice chair. “I do solemnly swear or affirm…” each new member repeated as the oath was administered, after which the council recessed to the next item on the agenda, election of the chair.
The council opened nominations for chair under a procedure requiring six votes to elect. Councilmember David Bartholomew nominated Councilwoman Alice Howard. Councilmember Larry Magellan, representing District 10, nominated Joseph Passamont. After a motion to close nominations carried, the council held a roll-call vote on Howard. The roll call returned six affirmative votes and five negatives, electing Alice Howard chair for a two-year term.
Roll-call votes for Alice Howard (chair): - Gerald Dawson — no - Barth Feldman — yes - York Glover Sr. — no - Alice Howard — yes - Joseph Passamont — no - Tab Tabernick — yes - Logan Cunningham — yes - Council member Brown — yes - Mark Lawson — no - Council member McGowan — no - Council member Reeds — yes
The clerk announced, “You have 6 votes,” and the chair position was declared filled. Immediately after the result, the outgoing chair turned the meeting over to the newly elected chair, Councilwoman Alice Howard, who thanked the prior chair and vice chair and said she looked forward to working with the council in the coming two years.
The council then considered election of the vice chair. Tab Tabernick was placed in nomination; there were no other nominees and Tab Tabernick was declared vice chair without a roll-call vote.
A motion offered early in the nominations to allow citizen comments before the vote was proposed but received no second and therefore was not acted upon.
The meeting opened with a quorum present (all 11 members) and included an invocation by Reverend James Moore. The council chair position is a two-year term under the council’s rules and procedures; the clerk set the election threshold at six votes before the vote was held.
Votes and formal actions taken at the meeting included the swearing-in of three council members, the election of Alice Howard as council chair, and the election of Tab Tabernick as vice chair. No ordinances, contracts, budgets, or other legislative measures were voted on in the portion of the meeting covered by this transcript.
