People Using me or Me being Paranoid?

My advice to you would be have everyone get together, or you could just do it yourself, and make a list of requirements for the position. That way it would take some pressure off of you. It would make it more about choosing a person who is best qualified for the position rather than sucking up to the top dog. If there is no need for an executive officer than that would eliminate the problem. But I would really suggest making a requirements list.