While an AG opinion the commission received last week has no bearing on how the commission ultimately appointed County Mayor Jim Coppinger, the county has received an opinion on questions surrounding the mayor’s vacancy.
Last week the commission received the opinion dated Jan. 7 about a scenario where Coppinger, who was formerly the commission chairman, would automatically become interim mayor without a vote. Coppinger would’ve automatically become mayor on Jan. 11 if commissioners had not decided on a replacement for Claude Ramsey.
The county asked whether Coppinger could still act at the District 3 commissioner while serving as interim mayor. The attorney general said he could, and could even vote on selecting another candidate as mayor. But County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said this did not mean Coppinger could have voted for himself to be mayor.
“The law is very specific,” Taylor said. “If the candidate is a commissioner he can’t vote for himself.”