Julie M. Graham is returning to the county solicitor’s office to serve a second stint as interim county solicitor. Above, Graham, center, is greeted by friends and coworkers during her retirement party at the Butler County Government Center.

Julie M. Graham is returning to the county solicitor’s office to serve a second stint as interim county solicitor.

The commissioners appointed Graham, who held the solicitor’s post from 1996 to 2013, to the interim position after it was pronounced vacant Thursday.

Graham said Friday she’s familiar with the solicitor’s office, having worked there for more than two decades.

“I’m happy to help,” she said. “I think my several decades of experience qualifies me.”

Graham began working as a grant writer in 1988, moving to the position of assistant solicitor in 1992. She served as solicitor until her retirement in 2013, and was appointed interim solicitor when her successor, Mike English, stepped down in 2018.

Graham was interim solicitor until H. William “Wil” White III was hired in October of 2019, then reinstated as interim solicitor after commissioners said Thursday that White was no longer employed by the county.

“(We) are confident that she is capable of performing all legal aspects of county work while ensuring the utmost professionalism,” commissioners said in a statement.

Commissioner Leslie Osche said Friday that Graham has been working part-time in the county’s Tax Claim Bureau for a year and a half, and that her previous experience contributed to her appointment.

“We were very fortunate she was currently on staff,” she said.

The commissioner’s statement added that the Gabriel Fera P.C. law firm will provide legal support to the Bureau of Elections until a permanent solicitor is hired.

Osche said a permanent solicitor may not be selected until after the primary election in May.

“I think it’s important we wait,” she said.

Osche didn’t give a reason for White’s departure, saying it was a personnel matter.