Politics

Leader through wildfire and Helene, McCall relinquishes county commission gavel

New commissioners Sheila Franklin (left) and Jay Egolf (far right) vote on a motion after being sworn in and taking their seats.

By Bill Moss, Published: December 2, 2024

Henderson County commissioners elected Bill Lapsley as chair and re-elected Michael Edney as vice chair on Monday night after two new commissioners, Jay Egolf and Sheila Franklin, were sworn in to the board.

One by one, Franklin and Egolf took the oath of office as their spouses held the Bible and District Court Judge James Marshall administered the oath. Franklin vanquished first-term incumbent Daniel Andreotta in the March Republican primary and environmental scientist Erik Weber of Fletcher in the general election while Egolf unseated David Hill, who was also serving his first term, in the GOP primary.

Lapsley had served as chair from 2020 to 2022 before Rebecca McCall led the board over the past two years.

Noting that it was the board’s custom and practice to hand off the gavel to a new chair every two years after the general election, McCall thanked her colleagues, the county staff and the public for their support during her service.

“I couldn’t have done the job without the support of everyone,” she said. “I didn’t think we were going to have a hurricane or a forest fire — the list goes on and on. But there’s a lot to being the chair. It’s not just presiding at the meetings. You’re the first contact, you’re the face of the board in certain situations.”

Lapsley, a retired civil engineer who has been involved in community service since the 1970s and a commissioner since 2014, thanked his colleagues “for this most important leadership position.”

“I promise to give you the best that I have to offer and I’m confident you’ll do the same during the coming year,” he said.