SALISBURY — Daniel Lancaster is the newest member of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners after being sworn in during the meeting on Monday. Lancaster will be on the board in an interim role, filling the seat of Mike Caskey, who has been deployed to the Middle East with the N.C. National Guard, until Caskey’s return.

Lancaster, a Republican, is a former member of the Salisbury Police Department, having served with the department for 11 years.

“The nominee has over 11 years of experience in law enforcement and leadership. He has worked directly with our community to ensure safety, build strong relationships and address the needs of the residents,” said Chairman Greg Edds, who recommended and nominated Lancaster.

Lancaster also previously served as an undercover narcotics officer with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

“(With the SBI), He gained valuable experience in navigating complex and often high pressure situations requiring expression, strategic thinking and an understanding of community dynamics. He was tasked with infiltrating criminal networks, gathering intelligence, conducting investigations and ultimately dismantling drug trafficking operations and reducing the impact of their products on local neighborhoods,” said Edds.

Lancaster is currently a law enforcement training coordinator at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and owns a landscaping business. Lancaster also serves as a member of the Rowan Helping Ministries Board of Directors. He has also written for the county-run web blog Your Rowan.

The appointment of Lancaster was approved three to one by the commissioners on Monday, with Edds, Vice-Chairman Jim Greene and Commissioner Judy Klusman voting yes and Commissioner Craig Pierce voting against.

All of Lancaster’s experience and his history of community service made Lancaster a solid choice to temporarily fill the seat, said Edds.

“As a county commissioner, he will continue to strengthen our county by focusing on public safety and economic development, improving services for all residents. His leadership approach is one that values collaboration, transparency and a strong focus on community development. He believes that by working together we can ensure that Rowan County remains a place where families, businesses and individuals can thrive,” said Edds.

Edds said in a phone call on Wednesday that Lancaster’s wide range of experience provided him a unique ability to address many of the concerns that the county is facing.

“We do have crime, we do have the education process, drug abuse, we’re working hard on economic development. I’ve thought of those things, and I’ve known him for some time. He has a unique ability to address all of those,” said Edds.

Edds added in the phone call that Lancaster was someone he had known since Lancaster was in the ninth grade and someone who he viewed as a person that members of the public would come to love for his passion, work ethic and willingness to help people.

Edds added that as members of the board of commissioners “moved closer to ending their time on the board,” they often thought about members of the community who would make for good elected officials. To Edds, Lancaster fit the bill.

Pierce, however, said that he voted against the appointment of Lancaster for several reasons, with the main reason being that he felt the commissioners had not done enough due diligence. He said that while he did not doubt that Lancaster was a good person and might make for a good commissioner, he felt that they should have spent more time and that he could think of several “more qualified” candidates that were recommended to him. He added that Lancaster would vote on the budget, making the appointment an important decision.

“I don’t agree with this at all, nothing against the candidate. We have not discussed anything about having an interim commissioner. I had people reach out to me today that I feel are more qualified and we haven’t given them an opportunity to present their case. I think we owe it to the citizens of Rowan County to vet all of these people if we’re going (put them in) a position to vote on a budget where possibly we raise taxes and cut services,” said Pierce.

Edds addressed concerns about the speed with which Lancaster was recommended and appointed, saying that county officials have been considering a temporary appointment to Caskey’s seat for months. While originally the members of the board felt that they could persevere while down a man, those opinions had recently swung the other way. When that happened, Edds said the commissioners “moved quickly” to fill the perceived deficit.

“We try to get things done quickly, and we’re proud of that. We don’t draw things out, because the county is continuously growing. There is a lot happening and a lot of times we don’t have the luxury of taking months. And it makes it more difficult when we’re hobbled and we don’t have the extra player,” said Edds, adding that there are budget amendments, grant applications, development proposals and policy proposals that need to be voted on quickly and decisively, which cannot happen if the board can not reach quorum.

Lancaster was sworn in surrounded by his wife and kids after the vote. After he was sworn in, Lancaster said that he would work to be “open-eared and serve the county the best I can.”

Greene and Klusman both congratulated Lancaster after he took the oath of office. Klusman said that she had the opportunity to interview Lancaster for the role during the prior week and felt that he was an “incredible and well-rounded candidate” who would listen to county residents, learn from them and serve them well.

Caskey is expected back in Rowan County in early September, said Edds. When Caskey has returned and is able to fully return to the role, he will retake his seat on the board and serve the remainder of the term, which extends through the end of 2028.

Edds said that the commissioners began looking into appointing an interim due to quorum concerns, pointing to a meeting in October when Caskey had been deployed and both commissioners Judy Klusman and Craig Pierce were going to be unable to attend due to health issues. In order for the commissioners to be able to achieve a quorum and officially make decisions, Pierce attended the meeting and pushed through.

“The question has been, would we replace Mike? That’s something that we’ve been considering for some time. So, as chairman, who runs the meetings and feels a certain amount of responsibility for making sure that the county continues to run and that we’re hearing items on agendas so that we can continue to do the work in the county, I started thinking about replacing Mike on a temporary basis,” said Edds.

Lancaster did not respond to phone calls or a text message on Wednesday requesting further comments on his priorities for his tenure.