Photo courtesy Jo Boggs

All in the family

In at least three counties in North Carolina, politics doesn't make for strange bedfellows. Cleveland County Chair Jo Boggs, pictured above administering the oath of office to her husband Gary Boggs, mayor of the Town of Fallston, is one of at least three county commissioners whose spouse also holds office within the county. Harnett County Chairman Tim McNeill's wife is Donna McNeill, who serves as chair of the Harnett County Board of Education. Beaufort County Commissioner Ed Booth's wife, Eltha Booth, is a longtime member of the county Board of Education. The Bible that Boggs used to swear in her husband is the same Bible used by her father, Loren Quincy Powell, who served 28 years as the Mayor of Troutman. Boggs has also used the same Bible each time she has been sworn in to the County Board of Education, where she served for 10 years, and the Board of Commissioners.