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It might not have been history-making, but for a board with a rich history of division and partisanship, it wasn't necessarily the norm, either.

Will Kirk Perkins be a good chairman of the board of commissioners? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

Guilford County commissioners chose Democrat Kirk Perkins as their new chairman for the coming year with little dissent and with encouragement from both sides of the political aisle.

Perkins, a real estate broker, appraiser and general contractor who represents the northeastern part of the county, collected the votes of all but one of his 10 fellow board members Thursday, including three of four Republicans. Billy Yow cast the lone dissenting vote.

"To get six votes on this board is difficult," Perkins said. "To get 10 is really humbling to me."

The selection came as other board members expressed wishes that the often-contentious board work more smoothly in the future.

"We don't always have to agree, but we should certainly not always be disagreeable," Democrat Carolyn Coleman said.

Also Thursday, the board voted 9-2 to elect Democrat Kay Cashion as vice chairwoman, with Democrats Coleman and Melvin "Skip" Alston voting no.

Republican Linda Shaw, who lost her bid for the that post, expressed her support for Perkins.

"I look forward to working with you and will certainly do what I can to help you," she said.

The chairman holds no additional voting power, but does run meetings and generally helps to set an agenda and works to keep the board focused.

Like the mayor in Greensboro, the chairman also represents the county at various ceremonies and functions.

Perkins, who said he will work to be inclusive, had let his interest in the job be known earlier in the year and had the support of the outgoing chairman, Democrat Paul Gibson.

Perkins said he's ready for the challenge.

"I'm looking forward to it. I hope everyone will work with me."

The transition to the new chairman wasn't without acrimony.

While wishing Perkins well, Alston found the time to take a shot at Gibson.

Perkins will have an "easy job," Alston said, because compared to the outgoing chairman, there is "nowhere to go but up."

Alston complained that he and other black commissioners had been left out of the decision-making process under Gibson.

"I have constituents too," Alston said. "I should not be left out."

Gibson didn't respond directly to Alston's charge but did have a few words for his fellow commissioner.

"Thank you, Mr. Alston," he said. "Your words mean more to me than you will ever know."

Alston also had advice for Perkins.

"I hope you will be fair," he said.

Earlier during the meeting, the board:

* approved a resolution in support of the Heart of the Triad process of planning for the development of the largely rural area between the cities of Greensboro, High Point, Kernersville and Winston-Salem.

* agreed to delay a hearing on rezoning for the controversial Patriot's Landing development until Jan. 17.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jhardin@news-record.com