Vacancy Opens on NCUA Board

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – There has been little effort so far to fill the vacancy opened up on the NCUA Board with the Aug. 2 expiration of JoAnne Johnson’s six-year term, as Washington politics is widely expected to delay appointment until the next President takes office. That’s because the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to confirm few Presidential appointments this close to an election year, when they hope a Democrat will win the White House. That would also tip the political scales on the three-member NCUA Board, where two members, including Johnson, are Republican appointees. Like her predecessor, Dennis Dollar, Johnson is expected to serve as a holdover until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. "The Chairman will continue to do the job until she’s told otherwise," said John McKechnie, chief spokesman for the agency. Dollar, who was appointed NCUA Chairman by President Bush, served more than a year as a holdover after his term expired before leaving for private industry.