Bill Christy appointed to fill vacant Black Mountain Town Council seat
Unexpired term runs through next year
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 12, 2021
Bill Christy, who was appointed July 12 to fill a vacancy on the Black Mountain Town Council, is sworn in by town clerk Savannah Parrish. Photo by Fred McCormick
A vacancy on the Black Mountain Town Council will be filled by William “Bill” Christy, following a 3-1 vote in the board’s July 12 regular monthly meeting.
Christy, who served six years on the town’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, was one of five applicants who sought to fill the unexpired term that was left open when Tim Raines announced his plans to move out of the state and step down in June.
The town established a nomination-and-ballot method for filling vacancies on the board in May, part of its committee membership recruiting and appointment policy. Under the protocol, which requires citizens, ages 21 and over, to submit applications for open seats, council members receive ballots featuring the names of all applicants. The ballots are tallied by the town clerk, and the applicant who receives the most votes is nominated by the council.
Council members Ryan Stone, Archie Pertiller, Jr. and Doug Hay each cast a ballot for Christy, giving the applicant the majority of votes necessary to be appointed to the seat. Council member Pam King cast one ballot for Suzanne Hosch.
Christy, a native of Haw Creek and graduate of Warren Wilson College, has been living in Black Mountain since 1995. He has been practicing law since 1989 and is a partner in local law firm, Stone & Christy.
The newly appointed council member will fill the unexpired term until 2022, when the seat will be decided in the general election. He is the third person to occupy the seat since Jeremi Konegni was elected in 2017. Raines was appointed to fill the term after Konegni stepped down in August of 2018.
Christy was sworn in by town clerk Savannah Parrish following the council’s vote.
Multiple vacancies on several town boards and commissions were filled after Christy took his seat on the board.
Three vacancies on the planning board were filled by Kathy Phillips, Pam Norton and Chas Fitzgerald. Jay Parmar, the sole applicant for two terms on the historical preservation commission, was appointed to fill one of the seats. Town council also voted to fill seats on the ABC Board (Rick Harwood), greenway commission (Julia Weatherford, Julie White and Lincoln Walters), recreation commission (Joseph Scotto and Andrea Menzel) and one of three alternate positions on the zoning board of adjustment (David Barley).