BY MILES LAYTON
Governor Josh Stein has appointed Eula Reid as superior court judge in Judicial District 1 (Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties). She will fill the vacancy from the retirement of Judge Jerry Tillett, who put down his gavel officially May 1, according to a press release issued Friday by Stein’s office.
By appointing Reid as judge, she will be in a strong position to run for election in 2026.
During April’s Perquimans County Democratic Convention, former Judge Janice McKenzie Cole embraced Reid with a glowing endorsement — so it didn’t take long to lick the stamp, seal the envelope and send a letter with Reid’s name to Stein for consideration. Or I guess these days, hit send on whatever email and pray it doesn’t end up in some spam folder.
If you’re new to the area, Cole’s words of endorsement hold pretty good weight because she was the first female and African American attorney in Perquimans County, elected the first female and African American District Court Judge in the 1st Judicial District, and appointed as a United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. And I’ll say it, Cole represents the best values of Eastern NC.
Back to Reid — she currently serves as an emergency superior court judge. She previously served as a superior court judge from 2021-2022 and was a district court judge for the 14 years prior to that. She received her B.A. from Elizabeth City State University and her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Judge Reid, congratulations on your appointment!
On a related note, Tillett was handling the case involving the Edenton’s Confederate Memorial before he put down his gavel. Case was to be heard in April, but was rescheduled to a date to be determined, so that case is simmering.
