A Commissioner, a farmer and now a mom of twins

County Commissioner Michelle Pace Davis and her husband welcomed twin daughters earlier this year.

Michelle Pace Davis is a farmer, a Johnston County Commissioner and, most recently, a newly minted mother of twin daughters.

“Nonstop” is how she describes her life since the twins’ birth on May 14.

At the same time, “it has been good,” Davis says. “It has been double the blessings, that’s for sure.”

The biggest surprise to her, she says, is being able to do two things at once. “Like picking up two babies at the same time,” Davis says. “I didn’t realize I could do that. Or carrying two car seats and feeding them both at the same time.”

Another surprise: “It’s all the diapers that they go through.”

Fortunately, Davis says, the twins are on the same schedule. “That is what everyone told me to do,” she recalls. “They were like, ‘If you can get them on the same schedule, get them on the same schedule.”

So that’s what Davis and her husband have been doing since they brought the girls home from the hospital. “If one wakes up to eat, the other one gets woken up to eat,” she says. “It’s been a lifesaver. That’s how I’ve been able to get a little bit of sleep.”

The twins have a big brother, now 3½.

“He loves them,” Davis says, though he can be envious of the attention his little sisters receive. “It can be a little difficult if he wants me to do something for him and I’m feeding them, or changing a diaper or trying to get them to sleep.”

“But he’s been really good,” she adds. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

Davis, now 35, made history when she became the youngest person elected to the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. She’s done so again as the first to give birth while in office.

“I’m very honored,” says Davis, who hopes other young women will realize that they too can serve despite having day jobs and families. “We can do it all and wear all the hats. It doesn’t have to be just one demographic. It can be everybody.”

But for any working mom who’s thinking about public service, Davis has some advice, a question really. “What is your support system?” she says. “Because I didn’t just run for office, the whole family did.”

When she has to be at a meeting or an event, Davis needs someone to look after her young son. “Do you have people lined up to help you balance all of the things — your career, your family and your service?” she says.

Davis calls her own support network amazing. “I’m so fortunate to have both sets of grandparents being able to help with the kids, but also other really close family members being able to watch them when I need them to,” she says.

Davis thinks too about the advice she has received. “The best advice has been, Be willing to ask for help,” she says. “Because I couldn’t do it without help from family and friends.”

Another piece of advice she received: Accept that you can’t be everywhere at once and decide whether that work thing, public event or family matter is most important at that particular moment. “Do I do a preschool pickup or do I go to this meeting?” Davis says.

It’s a good day when she doesn’t have to choose between family and service, Davis says. “I try to pick events that he can be a part of, like the community events,” she says of her young son.

Davis recalled a fire station dedication a couple of years ago. “I could take him with me to that,” she says. “It’s neat being able to bring him along and him to experience things about the public and what I do.”

Being a young mom shapes how she approaches her work as a County Commissioner, Davis says. “I think also being a young Millennial helps me look at things differently too,” she says.

Davis thinks about what draws people her age to Johnston County and what keeps them here. “I think it helps me to look at what their priorities are and how we can align services, whether that be public safety or the schools, to meet the needs,” she says.

Davis wishes her daughters could inherit the Johnston County she knows — one that is growing but is still largely rural and agricultural. “But I’m sure it’s not going to be what it is now because it’s changed so much in just the last 20 years,” she says. “But I hope that there are still caring people, that the elected officials have the priorities of the people and County employees in mind, that they feel safe, that they enjoy living here and that it’s a place they’re proud to call home.”

And what does she hope her daughters think about their mom making a bit of County history? “I hope that they would be proud and that I was able to serve well,” she says. “I hope that they look back and think, ‘I'm glad my mom was a part of it.’ ”

Page last updated on:  August 13, 2026