The County Commission voted 5-4 on Wednesday morning to name David Bales as the replacement for Mike Carter, who resigned as General Sessions Court judge.
Mr. Bales received five votes and Judge H.L. Smith got four. There were 13 candidates in all.
Judge Smith had said he would be a caretaker, and he has been sitting in Division II of the court since Judge Carter departed.
Commission Chairman Larry Henry was the swing vote, and he went for Mr. Bales.
Other Bales supporters were Richard Casavant, Fred Skillern, Curtis Adams and Lou Miller.
Smith supporters were Charlotte Vandergriff, William Cotton, Greg Beck and Bill Hullander.
Mr. Bales will be sworn in on Monday at 11 a.m. in Courtroom 1 of General Sessions Court. General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon will preside and Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker will administer the oath.
The public is invited to attend and to a reception that will follow.
Mr. Bales is a former chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party who has operated several Fantastic Sams hair salons in recent years. He has been sitting as a special judge in General Sessions Court in recent months.
Christie Mahn Sell was the leading votegetter by far in a poll of attorneys conducted by the Chattanooga Bar Association.
Other candidates were Michael Acuff of the public defender's office, prosecutors Mary Sullivan Moore, Rodney Strong and Carl Huskins, Magistrate Robert Meeks and attorneys Jeffrey M. Atherton, Joseph G. Degaetano, Marty Lasley, Hallie H. McFadden and Lisa Z. Bowman.
Many of the candidates attended the commission session.
Mr. Bales said he will be fair and impartial and treat those who come before him with respect.
He said he has experience as a corporate attorney, defense attorney and as a major felony prosecutor in Memphis. He also cited his business experience.
Mr. Bales grew up in East Ridge, attending Anna B. Lacey School, Brainerd High School, the University of Tennessee and UT Law School.
Stuart James, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said the appointment was a mistake.
He said, "David's a good guy, but he doesn't have the experience. The commission should have chosen an in-the-trenches lawyer."
Commissioner Vandergriff said there were many good candidates, and she said a caretaker should have been named. She said that would have allowed the voters to make the choice.
Mr. Bales said he plans to be a candidate for the post in the election next August.