Fayetteville’s city council began its 2020 sessions on Jan. 9 by swearing in two new members.

Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams opened the first regular meeting of the year by administering the oath of office to Darryl Langford, who won the Post 1 race against incumbent Harlan Shirley last November, and to Joe Clark, who won the runoff election on Dec. 3 to replace Kathaleen Brewer for the Post 2 seat. Mayor Edward Johnson was sworn in for a second term after running unopposed last fall. After welcoming Langford and Clark, Johnson thanked the citizens of Fayetteville “for giving a vote of confidence in electing those two gentlemen but also reelecting me as the mayor.”

Following the opening ceremony, the council voted 5-0 to name Scott Stacy of Post 3 as mayor pro-tem for 2020, replacing Rich Hoffman in that role.