JOHN COFFELTEditor

The Coffee County Commission failed to reach a majority vote needed to fill the seat left vacant with the recent passing of Commissioner Claude Morse for District 2 during its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The commission is required by state statute to temporarily fill the empty seat within 120 days of it being vacated. That deadline is March 10, which is two days before the next County Commission meeting is scheduled to take place on March 12. The seat will be officially filled by a General Election race in August.

The next meeting, however, will follow the county’s Primary Election on March 5, where two Republican candidates, Lee Sullivan and Roger Chambers, have qualified for the ballot. Those two were nominated Tuesday during the meeting by the commission. An additional Manchester resident, Benton Brown, filled out a Citizen Participation Form to be in the running for commission to fill the seat, but Brown was not in attendance at the Commission meeting on Jan. 9. Attendance was needed to be considered to be selected for the seat by the Commission.

The two nominees failed to garner the 10 votes to fill the seat until the August election. Sullivan received seven votes, Chambers two, and six commissioners abstained from voting.

Much of the discussion concerning the temporary appointment of a commissioner involved the timing of the appointment in relation to the Primary Election. No democrats or independents have qualified for the ballot, so barring a write-in candidate’s run, the Primary will in effect determine the outcome off the race, though the win will not be official until after the General Election.

“It seems not logical to put an individual in a seat that could very well sit in it for one night only,” Commissioner Dennis Hunt Said. “Therefore, when there’s a rollcall vote, I plan to abstain.”

Hunt said during his time in office, the Commission failed to fill a seat three times without consequence. He said the people in the district should be the one to make the decision concerning who would fill the seat.

Election Commission Administrator Andy Farrar told the Commission that state law only mandates that the commission fill the seat until the next General Election.

“Whoever you decide tonight or if you wait until March will serve until after the August election is certified,” Farrar said.

Commissioner Tim Morris said, “I just feel like if you pick one, then you’ve given one an advantage, and both these gentlemen gave me great answers. I’d take either one.”

Commissioner Mike Hodge noted that until the commission appoints someone to the seat, it will remain open until August even though the primary has narrowed the field to only one candidate.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.