THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501080079
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Cecelia Cartwright Austin, a veteran Albemarle educator known to her friends as ``CeCe,'' emerged Saturday as a strong new candidate to succeed N.C. Rep. William C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr. on the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners.
Austin, 60, lives in Elizabeth City, and has been a teacher and an assistant principal in the Chowan County school system for several years. She is a resident of the same Elizabeth City voting precinct as Owens - a necessary requirement.
``CeCe (as in see-see) will be nominated for appointment to the Pasquotank County board. I'm sure of it,'' said Catherine Meggs, chairman of the county Democratic Party.
When convened by Meggs this month, Pasquotank Democratic executive committee members will select a candidate to fill the vacancy created when Owens takes the oath as a state representative Jan. 25. Owens was elected to the General Assembly in November after the veteran N.C. Rep. Vernon G. James, D-Pasquotank, decided to retire.
Austin is the latest Pasquotank County Board aspirant to crowd the candidacy of former Pasquotank Sheriff Davis N. Sawyer Jr., for the vacancy.
Sawyer stepped down as sheriff last year after four decades as a lawman. Many old-guard Democrats have urged Sawyer to stand for the party nomination to succeed Owens.
And Sawyer until recently has seemed more than willing to serve on the county board for the two unexpired years of Owens' term.
But his wife of 50 years, Talmadge O. Sawyer, died in mid-November. He recently said privately he is now uncertain about whether he still wants the appointment.
``I'll make an announcement about it pretty soon,'' Sawyer said last week.
Meanwhile, Party Chairman Meggs and a coterie of younger Democrats have been urging appointment of a female to succeed Owens. Of the six members who will remain on the Board of Commissioners after Owens resigns on Jan. 25, only one is a woman.
If they run to form, the Pasquotank County Board members will appoint the candidate selected by Meggs' committee. But the board members can vote for any successor they want.
Austin said Saturday she would accept the nomination if asked.
Austin holds a master's degree and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University in education. She received her earlier teaching education from East Carolina University and is a native of Hyde County.
Austin is a close friend of Clara Boswell, a near-legendary teacher and school principal in the Chowan County school system. Boswell is now an Albemarle representative for U.S. 1st District Rep. Eva M. Clayton, D-N.C.
Other possible nominees for Owens' job include Elizabeth City Councilwoman Anita Hummer; Winifred Wood, who has been an Albemarle Democratic leader for many years; and Phyllis Nixon Bosomworth, an area real estate executive.
In recent days, a move to nominate an African-American candidate for the board has been developing in Elizabeth City, where slightly more than half of the residents are black. There is only one African-American county board member. by CNB