SALISBURY – County Council President Larry Dodd will continue to lead Wicomico’s legislative body with a new second-in-command.
Last week, the Wicomico County Council reelected Dodd as the council’s president and elected Councilman Joe Holloway as the council’s new vice president.
“I would like to say the year 2020 has been a rough year for the entire county and county council, and it was a bad year for me to be president,” Dodd said. “But with the help of all the council members and the staff … we got through it. I look forward to 2021, and hopefully we will be done with COVID-19 and things will get a lot better in this county.”
At the first meeting each December, the council elects a president and vice president from among its members. The president – or vice president in his or her absence – is tasked with setting the agenda and presiding over all meetings.
At the outset of last week’s meeting, both Dodd and Councilman John Cannon were nominated to the role of council president. In a 4-3 vote, however, Dodd was reelected to another term with Cannon and Councilmen Bill McCain and Josh Hastings opposed.
Dodd – a former captain with the City of Salisbury Fire Department – first served on the county council from 2002 to 2006. And in November of 2014, he was elected to his first term in office representing District 3.
After three years serving as the council’s vice president, Dodd was elected last December to replace Cannon as the council’s president. Cannon, who had served as council president for five years, was then elected to the role of vice president.
Following last week’s majority vote establishing Dodd as council president, both Cannon and Holloway were then nominated to the role of vice president, which ended in another 4-3 vote that elected Holloway to the post.
Holloway, a self-employed businessman, was elected to represent District 5 on the county council in 2006 and reelected in 2010 and 2014. In 2011, he served as the council’s president.
After last week’s election of officers, Acle thanked Dodd and Holloway for their willingness to lead the council.
“I wanted to thank President Dodd and Vice President Holloway for stepping up and taking these leadership positions,” she said. “We’ve had a very difficult year with a lot of tough decisions, so I appreciate you both doing so.”