Four candidates are seeking Dan Blue's old House seat.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a civil rights group, will hold a candidate forum with the Wake African American Caucus on Saturday to recommend a replacement for Blue, who moved to the Senate last month.

The announced candidates are:

* Bernard Allen II, 44, N.C. State Employees Association and son of former legislator

* Abeni El-Amin, 32, chairwoman of the Raleigh Human Relations Commission

* Rosa Gill, 65, chair of the Wake County school board

* Paul Terrell III, 42, manufacturing maintenance technician, Durham Cree Lighting

RWCA President Daniel Coleman said it was  "a younger pool of candidates" than the previous time, when Blue was chosen to replace Rep. Bernard Allen.

After the forum, the RWCA will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Blue's replacement on June 11. 

Two candidates have announced for an open House seat.

Bernard Allen II, son of a former state legislator, and Wake County school board member Rosa Gill are running for the District 33 seat.

The seat was formerly held by former Speaker Dan Blue, who resigned on May 19 when he was appointed to the state Senate.

Blue had held the House seat for years until he ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate in 2002. He was replaced by Bernard Allen, who died in 2006. Blue was then appointed back to his old seat.

Allen and Gill will speak at a forum on June 6 sponsored by the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a civil rights group. Other candidates will likely announce before that forum.

The RWCA will vote on its recommendation, which will likely be followed by the local Democratic Party. Gov. Beverly Perdue will then appoint the winner. 

State Rep. Dan Blue also has the official endorsement.

After winning a straw poll by members of the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association Saturday, the former House speaker was endorsed Monday night to fill the empty seat of former Sen. Vernon Malone by the group's official political action committee.

"There were some strong candidates in the field, but we feel very confident in Mr. Blue, and feel he'll do a great job as a North Carolina senator," said Anthony L. Blalock, chairman of the M-PAC.

The association's political arm was looking for someone who would immediately do a good job representing the district and would also stand a strong chance of holding on to the seat in future elections, he said.

The Wake County Democratic Party will decide Wednesday on his replacement.

Meantime, rival candidate Marlowe Foster announced that if he is chosen he will donate his salary to Malone's scholarship fund at Shaw University.

"For me, this nomination is not about title or monetary gain," he said. "It is about offering me to the people of the 14th District so they have representation that can be effective from day one and who can run and win in 2010."

A straw poll recommended Rep. Dan Blue move to the Senate.

About 50 people at a forum sponsored by the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association Saturday cast an unofficial vote on who should fill former Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

The candidates were Blue, Bernard Allen Jr., former educator Carol Dalenko Bennett, Pfizer lobbyist Marlowe Foster, Wake school board member Rosa Gill, media consultant J. Mills Holloway, former DMV director Alexander Killens and St. Augustine's College provost Kim Luckes.

RWCA president Dan Coleman said that Blue won the straw poll by a significant margin, followed by Holloway.

The group's political action committee will meet tonight to take a formal vote. The result will then be forwarded to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will make a final nomination for Gov. Beverly Perdue.

"The Wake County Democratic Party is not necessarily beholden to that endorsement," said Coleman.

Results of the straw poll after the jump.

   Comments (10)

Nine people are running for former Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

N&O education reporter Keung Hui forwarded this list of candidates who will speak at the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association meeting this weekend:

Rosa Gill, 64, chairwoman of Wake County School Board

Marlowe Foster, 38, lobbyist for Pfizer Corporation, ran unsuccessfully for Winston-Salem City Council in 2002.

Alexander Killens, 54, former director of N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles

Bernard Allen Jr., 44, son of former North Carolina representative

Dan Blue, 59, state representative, former speaker

Jay Holloway, Jr., 47, director of Learning Ventures, UNC Public Television

Kim Luckes, 52, executive vice president of St. Augustine's College

Carol Dalenko Bennett, 66, real estate broker, ran against Malone in 2008

Bruce Lightner, 61, president of Lightner Funeral Home

A former UNC-TV executive is interested in state Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

Jay Holloway, who worked for the public television channel for nearly 14 years, announced recently that he is seeking the nomination of the Wake County Democratic Party for the seat left empty by Malone's recent death.

Holloway said he would announce a five-point plan to improve education and bring green jobs to the Triangle area.

"We must be innovative in offering real-life solutions to the everyday kitchen table discussions of the residents of District 14," he said in a statement.

Wake County school board member Rosa Gill, Pfizer lobbyist Marlowe W. Foster, and the son of former state Rep. Bernard Allen are also seeking the nomination.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Malone's replacement.

Update: Former DMV director Alexander Killens has also announced he's running for the open seat.

Rosa Gill will also seek former state Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

The Wake County board of education member said she will be among the candidates speaking at a forum Saturday sponsored by the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, Keung Hui reports.

Other announced candidates include Marlowe W. Foster, a lobbyist with Pfizer; and Bernard Allen II, the son of a former state representative.

Other rumored candidates include Alexander Killens, former director of the state's Division of Motor Vehicles; and state Rep. Dan Blue, a former House speaker.

The association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Malone's replacement on May 6.

Candidates for Sen. Vern Malone's seat will speak at a forum May 2.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a local civil rights organization, is sponsoring the forum with the Wake County Democratic Caucus.

Among the people who have been mentioned as replacements: State Rep. Dan Blue, a former House speaker; Bernard Allen Jr., the son of a former representative; and former DMV commissioner Alexander Killens, according to local activist Bruce Lightner.

The forum will be held at 10 a.m. at the Seby Jones Fine Arts Building at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party after the meeting.

"In the past such recommendations have been given great weight as to the will of the people," Lightner wrote in an e-mail to Dome.

Bea Perry was ready for the voters.

Her hood pulled up over her hair, she stood beneath a tent at the Chavis Center in Southeast Raleigh, ready to help voters on behalf of the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a civil rights group. Nearby boxes of Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme and boxes of coffee were stacked on a table.

Perry said turnout was good, though she expected many already cast their ballots during early voting. She was here then, too, and saw about a 1,000 a day, more than double the number from 2004.

She would know. The 77-year-old retired schoolteacher has worked every election here for the RWCA since 1961, helping voters and getting out the word on its endorsements. She cited her experience voting in the days before the 1965 Civil Rights Act outlawed literacy tests as a catalyst.

"When I got ready to vote when I was 18 years of age, I had to recite the preamble to the Constitution to a man who couldn't even read it," she said. "Now, my nephew is the mayor."

How long did it take to memorize the preamble?

"About 15 minutes," she replied. "I already knew it, and I still do."

Could she say it now? She took a long stare at the young white reporter before her before speaking.

"I could. But I'm not. The days of testing are over."

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association announced two more endorsements today.

The black voters group in Raleigh endorsed Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue for governor and state Sen. Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate.

The group added today's endorsements to a list of Democrats, including Hampton Dellinger for lieutenant governor and Robin Anderson for labor commissioner, that the group supports in North Carolina's May 6 primary.

Perdue and Hagan both said they were honored to be recognized by the RWCA, which has advocated for Wake County minorities since 1932.