Newly elected officers of the Evanston/North Shore branch of the NAACP began a two-year term this month amid questions of whether this administration would be able to repair the tarnished image it suffered after several members cited problems with former president Bennett Johnson.

Taking over Johnson’s position as president is George Mitchell, a retired Commonwealth Edison employee and member of the local community for more than 25 years.

Other members elected in November include First Vice President Hollis Settles Jr., Second Vice President John Fuller, Third Vice President Gerri Sizemore, Secretary Judith Treadway and Treasurer Patricia Vance. Nine other non-officers were elected.

During Johnson’s two-year term, many members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People turned against him, claiming he was inefficient in running the organization as well as unresponsive to complaints.

While Mitchell said he had respect for his predecessor, he intends to take the group in a “new direction with new leadership.”

Although NAACP member and Evanston RoundTable columnist Peggy Tarr remains hopeful that the organization will increase its influence in the coming years, she is watching to see whether the new leadership will lift the organization out of a period of conflict-induced lethargy. She cited the group’s lack of effort in encouraging member involvement in its own activities — including the recent election — as a particular problem.

“I want to wait and see what they are going to do,” Tarr said. “Most of the people on the executive committee were committee members last term.”

Another NAACP member, Rose Cannon, said she believes the new committee will work to serve the people better than it has in the past.

“Whether they will be extremely active for civil rights, I don’t know,” Cannon said.

Cannon also said Mitchell’s previous employment by Commonwealth Edison’s Human Resources department could be a possible conflict of interest, noting the company has received complaints of discrimination in the past. But Mitchell dismissed the conflict-of-interest claims.

“I’ve had many assignments there … including human resources, area manager, public affairs and most recently director of diversity management,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell also dismissed the possibility that his wife’s employment as the principal of Timber Ridge Magnet School, part of Evanston/Skokie School District 65, is a conflict of interest.

The NAACP has been at odds with District 65 in the past over the placement of a new building in a predominantly black community.

One of Mitchell’s goals is to make the local branch “effective (and) energetic.”

“We want to be in a position to have a presence in people’s lives who rely on us,” Mitchell said. “We intend to be far more proactive in the community, especially with the school board and with the city. These are the institutions that are common to all people.”

“There are issues that (members) brought up that were not addressed by the executive board,” Tarr said.”We’ll see what happens.”