SALISBURY  — The Salisbury City Council officially has a full complement of five again after new member Carlton Jackson was sworn in on Tuesday.

Jackson will fill the rest of former Councilor Anthony Smith’s term, who resigned in September to move to Birmingham, Alabama. Jackson’s term will last through the 2025 election cycle.

The members of the city council voted to approve the appointment of Jackson during the Nov. 2 meeting.

Jackson has long been an active member of the Salisbury and Rowan County community, currently serving as the chairperson of the Rowan County Department of Social Services board and also spending time on the city’s Community Appearance Commission and its Neighborhood Leaders Alliance subcommittee, as a board member for the Waterworks Visual Art Center and as a board member for Rowan Helping Ministries. He has also worked with the Rowan-Salisbury School System through the School to Work program.

Jackson said that his service with those community organizations led him to apply for the open seat on the city council.

“I’ve volunteered on a number of committees and I just saw this as another opportunity to serve. Salisbury has been my home. I love the city and I love what our city does for us and I just feel like it’s my opportunity to contribute,” said Jackson.

After being sworn in by City Clerk Connie Snyder with his family surrounding him, Jackson said that his first task will be getting his “sea legs under” him by learning what is expected of him and what his role will be as a city council member. He said that Snyder has already been very helpful during the early stages of the transition.

“I know that we have some structural integrity issues around the city and dilapidated properties. Street concerns, I would say that’s probably the first thing. Public safety is always (a priority),” said Jackson about his priorities as a council member.

Jackson was chosen from among 13 citizens who submitted applications for the open seat. He was one of the two nominated for the role and was chosen with a vote of three to one, with Councilor David Post nominating and voting for community activist DeeDee Wright instead.

“He has also been an employee of Duke Energy for about 40 years. I have personally known him and admired his commitment to community, serving in so many different ways. Particularly when there would be issues with Duke Energy for our community, he was always there,” said Mayor Karen Alexander after the Nov. 2 meeting.

The meeting was a relatively short one at approximately 40 minutes, and many of the council members congratulated Jackson during the council comments period and joked about the short meeting, with Councilor Harry McLaughlin warning Jackson to “not get used to this” and Post joking that the next meeting would likely be “three-and-a-half hours” to balance it out.

“There’s going to be some long nights, there can be long days, but just come with a positive attitude and remember we’re all trying to accomplish something for the city. And as long as you do that, which I know you can do that, welcome, thank you and I look forward to working with you,” said McLaughlin.