Congratulations to Angela Bryant for being selected to serve the people of N.C. Senate District 4.

Bryant has proven herself to be a hard-working, effective leader. She has done a good job of representing the people of Nash County and Eastern North Carolina through her role in the N.C. House. We expect she will do the same in the N.C. Senate.

The new position is a good move for her, and it’s a good move for our area.

Bryant has the energy and experience necessary to provide strong leadership and a smooth transition after the passing of former N.C. Sen. Ed Jones. Jones, who served three terms in the N.C. Senate and one term in the N.C. House, died last month after battling pancreatic cancer.

Because of Bryant’s experience serving in the N.C. House, she already is familiar with the issues affecting our area. She also is familiar with the legislative process, which should allow her to hit the ground running.

Now, it will be interesting to see who steps up to serve N.C. House District 7.

An executive committee will be meeting to select a nominee for the open seat. Committee Chairman Don Davis said the committee will make every effort to select a nominee by Tuesday.

Acting quickly will ensure the people of N.C. House District 7 have a voice. However, it doesn’t leave much time for interested people to come forward and campaign.

The N.C. General Assembly will tackle a number of important issues during the upcoming legislative session. Those issues, which could include tax reform, regulatory reform and education reform, will have lasting effects for our area and for the state.

Therefore, it is imperative that we select another strong leader to represent N.C. House District 7 during the upcoming term.