Commission seats should be left open
There’s an ongoing argument about whether former Warren County Commissioners Bill Zechman and George Smartt should be re-appointed to the seats they voluntarily left. If you recall, the two stepped down from the county commission last month to seek, unsuccessfully, the state Senate spot vacated by Jerry Cooper.
To this point, I’ve heard two sides to this argument. One side says Zechman and Smartt were elected by the people ‘ and only resigned to seek a rare chance at the Senate ‘ and therefore should be reinstated by the county court.
The other side says Zechman and Smartt resigned on their own, essentially going against the will of the people by not fulfilling their terms. This side says they shouldn’t be given a free pass back into office.
My version of the argument goes like this. The county commission should not appoint anyone and leave the two seats vacant until a special election is held in August. Leaving the two seats empty for about six months won’t harm anyone, and it’s the fairest thing to do.
The county still has 22 capable commissioners and every district has representation. For years there have been cries to cut the size of the county commission in half, so operating with two less isn’t going to hurt a thing.
The county budget appears to be the only big-ticket item looming on the horizon and don’t expect any drama with that. The tax rate will remain unchanged at $2.31 and we’ll go from there.
County commission seats have remained empty before. We don’t have to look back any further than 2006 when Marty McGinnis won the 2nd District seat but had to resign before ever taking office because of his job with the TBI. The seat was empty for three months until Diane Starkey was elected in November.
If anything, appointing a commissioner to serve six months will only skew the election process in August. An incumbent ‘ even one serving just six months ‘ has a tremendous advantage. That said, if Zechman and Smartt both seek election in August, by leaving the seat open they will have the advantage.
It’s also vital to note the county commission appointment process will mirror the Senate appointment process. Nominations will be accepted from the floor and commissioners will vote that night.
It’s a process that worked fairly well for the Senate seat thanks largely to a public forum that was held beforehand. The forum allowed commissioners to know who was interested in the position and why.
But there has been no public forum for these two commission seats. And there’s absolutely no way to know who might be nominated Monday night.
One commissioner I talked to cringed at this predicament. He said he might end up having to vote for someone he doesn’t even know. This is a consideration which can’t be downplayed.
Too, the makeup of our county commission is such that voters who live in the 1st District are the only ones who get to decide who represents the 1st District. The same is true for all 12 districts.
But this won’t be the case if the county commission gets to appoint a replacement. Folks from Centertown and Midway will get to decide who represents Smartt Station and McMinnville. That just doesn’t seem right.
The perfect solution is for the county commission to not appoint anyone to fill the two vacant seats. If Smartt and Zechman want them back, they are more than welcome to pick up qualifying papers and seek election.
If the goal is to abide by the will of the people ‘ as it should be ‘ leave it to the voters to decide in August.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191.