John Paisley Jr. Republican Commissioner and Candidate in Alamance County

John Paisley Jr., a Republican member of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners who had been elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024, has died while serving a term that was scheduled to expire in 2028. Paisley had previously filled a partial commissioners term in 2014 and served consecutively since 2020; his seat will be subject to the county’s vacancy process and eventual election in the next cycle, county officials say.

Paisley’s path to the commission began when the Alamance County Republican Party Executive Committee selected him in January to fill the seat vacated when Tom Manning resigned Jan. 8 to become the county finance officer. At the time of that appointment Paisley said, “I was honored to receive the appointment to fill the vacant seat on the Alamance County Board of Commissioners,” and he announced he would file to complete the seat’s two-year term, noting, “The candidate filing period begins Monday and continues until Feb. 28 at the county Board of Elections in Graham.”

Election records show Paisley appeared on the general election ballot for Alamance County Board of Commissioners on November 5, 2024. He was elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024; Ballotpedia notes it did not receive biographical information from him and that he did not complete Ballotpedia’s 2024 Candidate Connection survey, providing the contact ELECT.JOHNPAISLEY@GMAIL.COM for follow-up.

Policy and governing style were central to Paisley’s public profile. Alamance News described him as “a champion for lower property tax rates,” reporting that he voted against rate increases in the budgets adopted by his colleagues in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Paisley set out his approach in his own words: “As your County Commissioner, I pledge to use my knowledge of the law and legal processes, my ability to focus on solutions rather than blame, my ability to pick battles carefully, and my experience in bringing people together to accomplish many needed goals to serve all residents of Alamance County,” he said.

Paisley’s background combined legal practice and civic leadership. He graduated from Elon College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1970 and earned his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest School of Law in 1973. Sources describe him as having “practiced law for the past 40 years in Burlington” and as a “long-time lawyer in Graham.” His civic roles included president of the Alamance County Bar Association, president of the North Carolina State Board of Elections Chairman’s Association, and chairman and past chairman positions with the Alamance-Caswell Mental Health Board.

Family and local details were prominent in remembrances. Paisley was married to Joyce Aldret Paisley for 52 years and is survived by four children—Janet K. Paisley, Susan Hedrick, John Paisley, III, and Elizabeth Paisley—according to local notices. Colleagues noted mobility challenges in his final year: he “had been unable to ascend to the raised dais” and a special location on the commissioners’ hearing room floor was established; at times he attended meetings in a wheelchair or participated remotely by Zoom and had missed several recent semi-monthly meetings.

Alamance County’s commissioner contact page lists Paisley’s county office at 124 W. Elm St., Graham, NC 27253, an official county email john.paisley@alamancecountync.gov, phone 336-212-7022, and the county switchboard at 336-228-1312; it also shows his current term expiring in 2028 and a 2025 committee assignment on ADA Compliance / Accessibility. Vice chair Steve Carter said the Republican Party’s Executive Committee must convene to appoint a replacement and that any appointee will have to run in the upcoming election season, adding, “Just always known him to be a traditional Southern gentleman.” Carter recalled a personal visit, saying, “The last thing I did was about two weeks ago, I went over and borrowed some of his poles for my banner signs,” and, “I checked up on him, and I hated I waited, I hated it was two weeks since I last talked to him.”

Public records and obituary notices contain some conflicting details: one source refers to Paisley as 65 at the time of an earlier appointment story while another obituary-style notice lists him as 76; one report says he practiced in Burlington while another calls him a long-time Graham attorney. Those discrepancies remain in local records and require follow-up for precise biographical confirmation.