RALEIGH -- The leadership of the Wake County Democratic Party picked state Rep. Dan Blue on Wednesday to replace state Sen. Vernon Malone, who died last month.
Blue, a veteran legislator, received 52 of the 84 votes on the first ballot. He defeated Bernard Allen II, 44, who works for the State Employees Association of North Carolina, and Mills Holloway Jr., 47, the owner of a media consulting group.
By law, Gov. Beverly Perdue must follow the group's wish to appoint Blue. He will fill out the rest of Malone's term in District 14. The term runs through 2010.
The executive committee of the Wake County Democratic Party will eventually have to pick a replacement for Blue. Jack Nichols, chairman of the Wake Democratic Party, said Blue doesn't plan to resign his House seat immediately because he wants to finish some work first.
Blue, 59, a Raleigh lawyer, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1981.
He became the first African-American speaker of the House in 1991, a position he held until the Democrats lost control in 1995. When Democrats came back into power in 1999, Blue fell one vote short of the speaker spot, losing to Jim Black.
Blue gave up his House seat in 2002 for an unsuccessful run in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, losing to Erskine Bowles.
Blue was reappointed to the state House in 2006 to fill the District 33 seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Bernard Allen.
Eight people had expressed interest in filling Malone's seat, but only six received nominations.
Brother Dan Blue - Appointed to . . .
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