Montgomery County commission fills District 6 seat after two rounds of balloting

The Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners selected Clayton Rudder to fill a vacant District 6 seat after two rounds of secret-ballot voting at its Jan. 12, 2026, meeting.

Commissioner Bill nominated three applicants for the vacancy — Chris Lancia, Clayton Rudder and Randy Albert — and the commission conducted an initial roll-call readback of ballots without any candidate securing a majority. The clerk then called a second ballot. The clerk's readback of the second round produced final counts of 12 votes for Clayton Rudder, seven for Chris Lancia and one for Randy Albert, giving Rudder a majority of the 20-member body.

Commissioner Bill announced the slate of nominees during the nominations period, saying, "I would like to go ahead and nominate Chris Lancia, Clayton Rudder and Randy Albert." The clerk read individual ballots aloud during both rounds; the transcript records each commissioner's second-round vote in sequence and the commission then offered congratulations to the successful nominee.

The commission conducted the vote by paper ballot at members' desks, following standard internal procedures for filling midterm vacancies. The record does not identify a mover or formal motion text beyond the call for nominations and the direction to cast ballots. The transcript contains a congratulatory announcement recorded as "Commissioner Bridal," but the roll-call readbacks in the transcript show Clayton Rudder received a majority of votes in the second round and thus was selected to fill the seat.

The board did not record a public swearing-in during the meeting. The commission moved on to routine reports and then adjourned.