DURHAM - Durham County commissioners delayed filling Joe Bowser’s vacated seat Monday night to sort through Republican criticism of candidate Fred Foster.

“We just need to be clear that the decision that we are making is the best for the community,” Commissioner Brenda Howerton said.

Commissioners now plan to appoint someone June 25.

Commissioners received a news release Saturday from the Durham County Republican Party calling for Foster to withdraw his name from the list of candidates. The release links to a 1991 state Office of Administrative Hearings document concluding Foster used county resources to send his private mail and worked on a second job, an insurance business, on county time while he was employed by Durham County Department of Social Services.

Foster contends Republicans have misconstrued the information for political gain and says he resigned from DSS “because of a series of misunderstandings and false claims.”

According to information provided by the county, Foster worked for DSS from 1979 to Jan. 5, 1990, when he resigned from an administrative assistant position. Foster said he challenged the county on a claim that he used his position to mail business and personal material. The document that the county GOP provided, a recommended decision signed by Administrative Law Judge Michael Rivers Morgan, indicates Foster was given the option to resign or be dismissed for sending personal mail through the county system and working on his insurance business while being paid by the county.

Foster said the document was incomplete and that Morgan ultimately concluded he didn’t mail insurance materials to clients, but that statement isn’t supported by the report provided by Republicans.

Foster finished second in the 14-person Democratic primary for five seats on the board and would take office in December barring any successful write-in campaigns. He received the Democratic Party recommendation to fill Bowser’s seat now after Bowser finished seventh in the primary and resigned.