Judge Tessa Shelton Sellers
By Barbara Deas
Guest Writer
District Court Judge Tessa Shelton Sellers has been nominated and certified to appear on the November ballot as the Republican candidate for the District 43A Superior Court Judge seat vacated by the recent retirement of Judge Bill Coward.
Her nomination has been submitted to Gov. Roy Cooper with the expectation that he will appoint Sellers to fill the open seat immediately instead of leaving it vacant until the Nov. 5 general election.
Sellers is a Clay County native, serving as a 43rd District Court Judge in the counties of Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties for the past decade. She started her law career as a District and Superior Court Assistant District Attorney working primarily in Clay, Cherokee and Graham Counties before opening her private law practice. In 2014, Governor Pat McCrory appointed Sellers to her position as a District Court Judge. She ran a successful contested race in 2016 and has run uncontested since that time.
State statutes dictate that vacancies occurring in the courts for causes other than expiration of a term shall be filled by appointment by the governor. However, the statutes also state that if the vacancy occurs in an election cycle year, nominations to fill the vacancy will be made by the executive committee of each political party and the nominees shall appear on the general election ballot.
Superior Court District 43A comprises five counties: Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Macon and Swain. There were two Republican candidates, both Clay County natives, vying for the open position.
Sellers and Senior Assistant District Attorney John Hindsman Jr. both spent the weeks leading up to the vote visiting the GOP Executive Committees of all five counties to introduce themselves and outline why they were the best candidate for the position.
The executive committees of those five counties came together on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Clay County Republican Headquarters to vote on the nominee. The situation requiring these executive committees to choose the person to fill an open vacancy does not occur often and it is a serious and important function.
Each of the five counties have nine executive committee members, all of whom understood this was an important and difficult decision. The meeting was conducted by State and District 11 officials and Sellers was elected as the nominee by an overwhelming margin of more than two thirds of the votes.
Sellers is a sitting District Judge and that position will become vacant once the governor appoints her to fill the Superior Court Judge seat for the interim leading up to the November election. Therefore, the same process will be followed to fill her vacant District Judge position. Along with the executive committees of the five counties involved in this nomination, the process to fill the District Judge seat will be expanded to include Haywood and Jackson counties.
Sellers is the daughter of Charlie and Denise Shelton. She grew up in Clay County and has been married to Joe Jack Sellers for 23 years. Joe Jack works in the Environmental Science Department of the Clay County Health Department and coaches baseball at Hayesville High School. After full days on the bench, Sellers can often be found in the stands rooting for her sons Jackson, 15, and Rhett, 13, as they participate in basketball, baseball or track activities. Her family is active in the community and in her church, Moss Memorial Baptist Church.
Sellers’ work ethic, judicial experience and temperament makes her uniquely qualified to make the move to Superior Court smoothly, without a learning curve. The Clay County Republican Party congratulates Sellers on her nomination to this important position and looks forward to supporting her as she serves the citizens of the five-county area fairly and effectively for many years to come.
The author, Barbara Deas is chairperson of the Clay County Republican Party.