The County Commission on Wednesday narrowly voted to appoint fellow Commissioner Greg Martin to the House District 26 seat formerly held by Robin Smith, who resigned after picking up felony criminal charges.
He immediately left his seat on the panel, leaving the commission with only eight members.
Two of those (David Sharpe and Steve Highlander) were absent on Wednesday, making it questionable if the commission could come up with five votes for the Martin appointment. Also, Commissioner Martin could not vote for himself.
The difficulty was especially high after Commissioner Tim Boyd opened the discussion calling on the panel to not make an appointment, but let the voters decide in the upcoming election. Commissioner Randy Fairbanks seconded the motion. But that motion failed with Chairman Sabrena Smedley having the final deciding vote and opting against the motion.
Commissioner Chip Baker then moved for the Martin appointment. Commissioners Boyd and Warren Mackey initially passed, leaving only four (Smedley, Fairbanks, Baker and Katherlyn Geter) in favor of the Martin appointment. Given the chance to vote again, Commissioner Boyd continued to pass, while Commissioner Mackey changed his vote to yes.
A process to replace Commissioner Martin on the commission for District 3 will now begin. Charlie Hunt, longtime Republican activist and businessman, and City Council Vice Chairman Ken Smith both said they are interested in seeking the post.
Former Commissioner Martin said, "I am excited that the County Commission has chosen to appoint me as Interim State Representative for House District 26 and I am ready to go to Nashville to represent the voters of House District 26 for the remainder of this term.
"There are many important items being debated in Nashville and I believe the people of House District 26 should have a voice in those discussions. My experience as a member of both the Hamilton County School Board as well as the Hamilton County Commission make me uniquely ready to serve the voters of District 26 on discussions such as the education funding and state budgets and I am appreciative of the County Commission for selecting me to fulfill this duty.
"I look forward to going to Nashville next week and getting into the details of the items on the agenda for the remainder of this session."
Joe Smith, District 3 school board member, urged the commission to approve the Martin appointment. He said there are eight schools in the district and the legislature "is dealing with an unprecedented number of education bills, including changing the funding formula."
He said the commission earlier announced that it would make the appointment on this date. He said the commissioners to "follow your process."
Commissioner Boyd said in 2010 when Curtis Adams resigned as District 8 commissioner that the remaining commissioners did not fill the post. He said doing so "gives the appointee a tremendous advantage."
He said there was nothing urgent for the Legislature to consider toward the close of the session, and he said that district has a strong voice in Senator Bo Watson.
Rep. Martin plans to run in the upcoming House District 26 election as well.