I’ve begun soliciting my wife’s help in proofreading blog posts.  She’s a U.N.C. journalism major and knows intricacies of English grammar that I occasionally overlook.  A recent proofreading session lead to the idea for this post.

Tyrone Williams’ resignation left a vacancy on the Fayetteville City Council.  To fill the vacancy, the council announced that it is accepting volunteers from District 2.  Presumably, one volunteer will be chosen by a majority vote of the council.

So who will they select to lead District 2?  The answer can be found in the proofreading:

“democratic”

Republican Dan Culliton lost to Tyrone Williams by a few hundred votes last November.  Culliton has now come forward, “answered your calls,” and volunteered to save District 2:

Culliton had the guts to run as a Republican in an unfavorable district, and he performed much better than people expected.   In 2017, Culliton received more votes from District 2 than anyone else that could be appointed, so he can make a strong case that he deserves the seat.  It doesn’t get anymore “democratic” than that.

“Democratic”

Throwing democracy aside (this is politics after all), a majority of Democrats on the council are likely to join with Democrat Mayor Mitch Colvin to appoint a Democrat to the vacant seat.

You could take this one step further and predict that this Democrat will be an African American.  After all, District 2 has a large African American population and elected Tyrone Williams.  As of late, Mayor Colvin and the council have been adamant about hiring minorities for city contracting.   They may argue that a minority is needed to replace a minority member of the council or represent the interests of District 2.

The city council has an interesting choice ahead, and we will know more as additional volunteers emerge.  May the odds be ever in their favor.