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Chrelle Booker appointed as first female mayor pro tem

TRYON—The Town of Tryon appointed its first woman mayor pro tem this week and swore into office the mayor and two commissioners. 

Tryon Town Council met Tuesday night and swore into office incumbent mayor Alan Peoples and incumbent commissioners Crys Armbrust and Chrelle Booker. 

Booker was also appointed as mayor pro tem and is the first female to hold that position in Tryon’s history. 

Booker was the high vote getter during the November election with 235 votes and secured a four-year seat. 

Tryon’s practice is to appoint the highest vote getter as the mayor pro tem. Booker is the first female African American to ever serve on the board. She was appointed in 2017 to fill the vacant seat left by former commissioner Roy Miller when he resigned. She won the election in 2017 to fill the remainder of Miller’s seat then won again in 2019. 

Booker was the high vote getter in November with 235 votes. 

Armbrust retained his seat this year with 134 votes over write-in candidate Heidi Selbee, who received 116 votes. 

Incumbent mayor Peoples retained his seat with 240 votes. There were 15 write-in votes this year for Tryon Mayor. 

Armbrust and Peoples were sworn into office Tuesday night by town clerk Susan Bell. Booker was sworn into office by Bell as well with her parents, Clemon and Odessa Booker. 

Council later appointed Booker as the mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem takes over the mayor’s position in his or her absence. 

Booker is also currently the only female in Polk County to serve as a town or county commissioner. There are females on the Polk County School Board, but currently no other females on the Polk County Board of Commissioners, the Columbus Town Council or the Saluda City Council.