Yesterday afternoon, Sept.15, Patsy Keever was sworn in to represent District 115 in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Gov. Beverly Perdue recently appointed the Democrat to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Bruce Goforth earlier this summer (he stepped down soon after Keever beat him in the May primary).
Buncombe County Commission Chair David Gantt presided over the ceremony in the Buncombe Courthouse, which was attended by about 100 supporters and elected officials, including Buncombe State House representatives Susan Fisher and Jane Whilden, who welcomed Keever into her new position with a big group hug. Several of the attendees later retired to Pack’s Tavern to celebrate.
The celebration could be short-lived however, unless Keever wins a full two-year term in the Nov. 2 election. Technically, Keever will now be campaigning as an incumbent, but since the General Assembly won’t reconvene until January, she’ll have little chance to legislate unless she wins. Her opponent in the November election is Republican Mark Crawford.
Keever, a retired teacher, previously served three terms as a Buncombe Commissioner and made an unsuccessful 2004 bid for the 11th District U.S. House seat then held by Rep. Charles Taylor.
After yesterday’s ceremony, Keever took a few minutes outside the courthouse to speak with Xpress about her campaign and her policy priorities:
And here’s a video of the swearing in ceremony:
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