There's no knowing what theymos will do, but he might appreciate a list of people who would be willing to do it, and if he feels there's a need for it to be moderated then he can articulate his opinions based on that list. He's only recently asked the community to give their input on who should moderate the Politics and Society section so he does listen to the community when he feels it's best too.
Yes, he doesn't normally leave a position of the forum unappointed when there's a need and someone who can fill the slot.
Potentially produce some sort of shortlist on a thread fore each section that is without a moderator. The shortlist should be Sr members plus at least (theymos isn't going to trust someone who has only been here a few weeks to run a board of the forum - with a higher ranked account there's more for the user to lose).