Cary councilman nominated for Wake commissioner seat

Councilman Erv Portman would succeed Stan Norwalk, who resigned as commissioner three weeks ago to move to Kansas to be near his family.

The Board of Commissioners will vote at its next meeting to approve Portman's nomination or call for a special election to fill the seat until the end of 2012, when Norwalk's term in office would have ended.

Portman said that, if his move to the county board is approved, he likely would wait until July to fill the seat. That would allow him to finish working on Cary's annual budget and not force him to vote on a county budget with which he's unfamiliar.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said it hasn't been decided whether the Town Council would appoint someone to fill Portman's seat if he is named a commissioner or would leave the seat open until the October election.

Portman has served on the Cary Town Council since 2007. He owns a business that specializes in prototype development and precision machining for industries worldwide.