Commissioner candidate appointed to fill vacancy on county board
By Don McLoud
Published in News on April 20, 2004 2:03 PM
The Wayne County commissioners voted 4-2 today to appoint Jack Best to fill an opening on the board.
Best will replace Ken Gerrard, who resigned recently. Both Best and Gerrard are Democrats. The Wayne County Democratic Party was charged with selecting a nominee for the commissioners, according to state law. Best was the party's pick.
With Gerrard's resignation, the board was split 3-3 between Democrats and Republicans.
Republican Commissioners Efton Sager and Andy Anderson voted against the appointment, saying the commissioners should not appoint someone who planned to run for election in November, when all seven commissioner seats are up.
They said that appointing Best would give him an unfair advantage in the election. They wanted to wait to appoint someone after the May filing period and to choose someone who would not be running.
Commissioner Arnold Flowers disagreed with his fellow Republicans and cast the tie-breaking vote.
Those also voting in favor of Best were Commissioners Atlas Price, J.D. Evans and John Bell.