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DeWitt County Board declares vacancy in District C after Tom Farris resignation; appointments follow
Summary
Chairman Witte said Tom Farris resigned 'due to personal reasons,' prompting the board to declare a vacancy in District C and approve several appointments to county boards, including filling Farris’s ETSB and CenCom seats. The board also set the vacated seat to appear on next year’s ballot.
Chairman Witte opened the March 20 DeWitt County Board meeting by noting that Tom Farris had resigned from the board. Witte said, 'due to personal reasons, Farris turned in his registration from the Board,' and moved to declare the District C seat vacant; the county clerk will notify the local Republican and Democratic chairs and the vacancy will appear on the ballot next year to fill the remaining term.
On the same motion sequence, the board approved appointment actions to ensure continuity in county boards and emergency communication seats. The board appointed John Werts to the Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) and the CenCom Board to fill seats formerly held by Farris; Werts abstained from that vote while the other nine members voted aye. The meeting record shows unanimous approval for multiple related appointments earlier in the session, including Jason North and Candance McCartan to ETSB to fill other unexpired terms.
The board’s actions were procedural—declaring the vacancy and moving to fill related board seats—but have immediate operational effects for county emergency communications and board representation. The clerk’s notification to party chairs begins the formal process for filling the District C seat ahead of next year’s election.
