After serving nearly four years in the North Carolina State Legislature, House District 20 Rep. Rick Catlin resigned Monday. The Republican had been set to leave office in December after not seeking re-election this year.
Now, an executive committee of voters from House District 20, which is made of the most northern of New Hanover County, will make a recommendation to Gov. Pat McCrory on who should fill Catlin’s seat for the remainder of his term. According to New Hanover County Republican Party Chairman Michael Franklin, that will not be happening this week.
“We won’t be meeting until the end of next week,” Franklin said, adding he is required to give 10 days notice to the members of the committee. “No recommendation will be given until then.”
There has been speculation that Holly Grange, who handily won the Republican primary race for the seat in March and does not have a Democratic opponent in November’s general election, will fill the seat.
“Typically, that person [that won the primary] is recommended, but that’s not a done deal,” Franklin said. “We don’t know who it will be yet. The committee could choose someone else, and of course the governor could always reject the recommendation.”
Catlin, an engineer by trade who owns Wilmington-based Catlin Engineers and Scientists, announced last fall that he would leave politics to focus on his business.
