Wendell — Commissioners selected a newcomer to lead the town’s Planning Board.

Sam Laughery, who moved to Wendell in November from Virginia, was named on three of the five ballots to lead the advisory panel for the next two years.

Several years ago, at the request of the Planning Board, commissioners began selecting the chairman and vice-chairman of the body.

Laughery was a bit of a surprise selection to earn a spot on the Planning Board despite having served in a similar capacity in Herndon, Va., where he lived before moving to Wendell.

On his application, Laughery listed Commissioner Bill Connolly, who is his neighbor in Olde Wendell, and Commissioner Ronald Thompson as references.

Connolly, Thompson and Commissioner Buddy Scarboro decided to elevate Laughery to the top spot on the board after former chairman Bob Mancuso was not chosen to serve a second term. Laughery’s appointment as chairman elicited concerns from at least one member of the Board of Commissioners.

“So we’re going to appoint someone who has lived in Wendell all of seven months to serve as chairman of the Planning Board?” Commissioner Carol Hinnant asked.

She got no response.

Laughery, who was sitting in the audience, said he would agree to serve as chairman.

Laughery is a retired federal employee, having worked stints with the Central Intelligence Agency and the

U.S. Senate Computer Center.

He also served as vice president of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the parent company of the Nasdaq stock exchange, Laughery wrote in his application.

He beat out Lee Batson for the top spot on the board. In a separate vote, Batson was chosen as vice-chairman, defeating Larry Vaughan after two rounds of voting.

That decision also caused some heartburn for commissioners after the first round of voting ended in a tie with Batson and Vaughan both collecting two votes. Hinnant suggested that Mayor Harold Broadwell vote to break the tie, but he questioned whether that was the right action.

Town Manager David Bone deferred the answer to the town attorney who was not present at last week’s meeting.

Commissioners ultimately decided to cast their votes a second time without Broadwell’s participation and Batson picked up the third vote she needed to become vice-chair.