Fred Foster, who won a Democratic nomination for Durham county commissioner last week, is getting some support for taking his seat early.

Will Wilson, who finished sixth out of the 14 candidates, has endorsed Foster (right) to take over for Joe Bowser, who resigned from the county board after losing a bid for re-election.

Darius Little, who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2009, has also said publicly that Foster should get the empty seat. Foster, currently president of the Durham NAACP chapter, finished second in the primary election. The top five candidates won spots on the November ballot and, so far, face no opposition candidates.

Who fills in from now until the new commissioners take office in December is up to the four remaining board members. State law requires they take a suggestion from the Durham County Democratic Party, since Bowser is a Democrat, but the commissioners are not bound to follow the party recommendation.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners will not discuss the so-called “fracking” issue at tonight’s meeting as earlier indicated.

Fracking refers to hydraulic fracturing, a technology used in conjunction with horizontal drilling to tap into underground natural gas deposits trapped in shale rock formations. North Carolina is believed to have about 40 years of shale gas around Lee, Chatham, Moore and other central counties.

The commissioners are awaiting a full report from their appointed Environmental Affairs Board that has not yet been completed, Durham County officials announced this morning. That report is expected in another few weeks.

So far most of the discussion about "fracking" has been limited to Lee, Moore, and Chatham counties. But legislation pending in the General Assembly does not restrict drilling to a designated "fracking zone," Progress NC reports on its website. A map from the N.C. Department of Natural Resources shows potential for natural gas deposits all over the Triangle and Piedmont area of North Carolina. Two-thirds of Durham County and even Jordan Lake, a major source of drinking water, appears to be in the fracking zone, Progress NC says.

For more information on the Durham commissioners’ agenda this evening at 7 p.m., visit the Durham County website at www.durhamcountync.gov.

Fred Foster, president of the Durham NAACP branch, has become the third official unofficial candidate for the Board of County Commissioners.

Candidate filing does not open until Feb. 13, but this week Foster (right) registered a campaign committee with the Durham County Board of Elections.

A long-time Democratic Party activist, Foster ran unsuccessfully for a commissioners' seat in 2000 and 2008, and for the state House in 2010.

He joined Duke University biologist Will Wilson and former Durham Planning Commissioner Wendy Jacobs, who had already registered their campaign committees. Both are registered Democrats.

Political newcomer John Owens, also a Democrat, registered an "exploratory committee" this week, but has not specified an office he is seeking.

From correspondent Virginia Bridges

The decision on who will fill Becky Heron’s vacated seat remains unanswered after a tie vote among Durham County commissioners Monday.  

Chairman Michael Page and Brenda Howerton voted to appoint political newcomer and community volunteer Pamela Karriker.

Ellen Reckhow and Joe Bowser voted to appoint former planning commissioner and neighborhood activist Wendy Jacobs.

Bowser and Reckhow said the board was at an impasse and should forward the decision to Durham County Clerk of Superior Court Archie Smith, who will make the appointment if the board can’t. Smith could make his appointment, and the board could swear in the new member by the next commissioners' meeting Sept. 26, they argued.

Howerton said the commissioners should use all of the 60 days allowed to make a decision. Those 60 days run out at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Melvin Whitley, the Durham County Democratic Party's third vice president, said he would continue to lobby for  applicant Hampton Dellinger, who received the local party's recommendation.  

From correspondent Virginia Bridges

Retired Durham County Commissioner Becky Heron is putting her support behind Wendy Jacobs to finish heron's unexpired term.

“Really and truly I would like very much for Wendy to be in the seat that I was occupying,” Heron said.  “She would work just as hard as a county commissioner as she has in saving this land along New Hope Creek.”

Heron was referring to Jacobs' efforts as chair of the Erwin Area Neighborhood Group, which spearheaded and raised money to help local governments and other organizations buy a 42.8-acre tract at Erwin and Pickett roads from Duke University to prevent it from being developed.

Nine people have applied to replace Heron, who officially stepped down from her position of Aug. 1.  The other eight are Anita Daniels, Hampton Dellinger, Pamela Karriker, Tonya Kemble, Rickey Padgett, Jane Redoble, Jane Volland and William Wilson.  

Meanwhile, members of Durham County Democratic Party plans to meet tonight at White Rock Baptist Church to decide on its recommendation on who should take the seat.  The recommendation would be forwarded to the County Commissioners, who will ultimately make the decision.

Sign in begins at 6 p.m. and proceedings are expected to start at 6:30 p.m.  
While the general public can observe the proceedings, only state executive committee members, elected officials, precinct chairs or vice chairs can vote, said the party’s second vice Chairman Zack Hawkins.

Officials will consider the six candidates who have submitted formal applications to the party, and will also take nominations from the floor.

Veteran County Commissioner Becky Heron plans to resign her seat, a year and a half before her term expires.

"I think it's time," said Heron (right), who has served on the county board since 1982. "That's a lot of years."

Heron, 83, said she has had "a few minor medical problems" that led to her decision to step down.

She did not say when she plans to actually leave office, and said she will recommend a successor to her board colleagues. It will be up to the commissioners to select a member to serve out Heron's term, which ends in December 2012.

"It's been a good run for me," she said, "and I wouldn't take anything for those years on the county commissioners. It's been a great experience.

"I can't speak for my husband on that."

Heron is married to retired Duke University geology professor Duncan Heron.

From correspondent Virginia Bridges

The Durham County commissioners voted to replace the longtime management company of the Durham Convention Center, citing under performance and its competition’s successful track record of managing similar public facilities.
 
The unanimous vote authorized County Manager Mike Ruffin to negotiate a management agreement with Global Spectrum that outline terms before and after a scheduled $6.1 million upgrade to the convention center. The Durham City Council, which owns the facility jointly with the county, would also have to approve Global’s proposal before the board could approve the final contract.
 
“This is not a final step, it is just a first step,” said Commissioner Ellen Reckhow.
 
City and county officials put the management contract out to bid last year after expressing concern about Shaner Hotel Group’s management and marketing of the center, which has experienced an average operating loss of $1.1 million over the past five years.

From correspondent Virginia Bridges

Despite the snow and ice, city and county officials made their way to City Hall this morning to discuss the future management of the Durham Convention Center located at the downtown Marriott.

Two companies are vying for the contract to operate the facility that has had an annual operating loss of about $1.1 million over the past five years, according to a city report.  Elected leaders from Durham County Board of Commissioners and the City Council will hear staff reports and from the two firms vying for the contract to manage the facility at the Joint City-County Committee.

Shaner Hotel Group, which has managed the Durham Convention Center since it bought the old Omni Hotel in 1996, is competing against Global Spectrum, to run the Convention Center, which is jointly owned by the city and county.

From correspondent Virginia Bridges

The Durham County commissioners put off deciding who will lead them next year after more than 25 tie votes Monday.

The chairman sets meeting agendas, presides over meetings and enforces time limits. Commissioners generally elect a chairman and vice chairman at their first meeting in December.

Commissioner Brenda Howerton initially nominated Commissioner Joe Bowser for chairman. The vote failed 2-2, followed by another tie vote with Commissioners Ellen Reckhow and Becky Heron voting for current Chairman Michael Page, who was out of town Monday.

Commissioners eventually agreed to postpone the vote for chairman until next week, when Page returns.  

Bowser then nominated Howerton for vice chairwoman. That also wound up 2-2. The board continued trading tie votes, Heron and Reckhow supporting postponement, and Howerton and Bowser supporting Howerton.  

The board finally agreed to postpone both votes after learning that the stalemate would keep the county attorney from accompanying his mother to the hospital.
 

The 751 South rezoning passed a county commissioners' vote Monday night (read long version of online story here), but the development's opponents plan to take their case to a higher authority.

Kim Preslar, who lives near the 751 South site and filed a protest petition against the rezoning, says she and other opponents "will be pursuing" legal action to contest a ruling by County Attorney Lowell Siler that invalidated their petition.

Siler, before the commissioners' vote, said in his opinion the state DOT lacked authority to revoke its acceptance of a right-of-way donation from Southern Durham Development, which owns the 751 South site and is proposing to build a mixed-use subdivision there.

By making the donation, Southern Durham moved its property line beyond the limit subject to the protest petition, rendering it invalid and allowing the rezoning to pass with only three commissioners voting approval. A valid protest petition would have required four.

The rezoning passed 3-2.

Siler's opinion appeared to contradict that of the state Attorney General's office and some Siler received from the University of North Carolina School of Government.

"We're pretty shocked that the County Attorney's opinion did not take into account the opinions of the Attorney General and the School of Government," and seemed to follow that of the developers' attorneys, Preslar says.