Hamilton County Commissioners will not hold a simple yes or no vote to select the county’s next mayor when they meet Monday.
Each commissioner can nominate a person, and those nominations do not need a second, County Attorney Rheubin Taylor and Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said. Because Commissioner Jim Coppinger is a candidate, he cannot vote for himself or on any other motion related to replacing Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, meaning only eight commissioners can vote.
“It will be a roll call,” Taylor said. “Each commissioner names the person they’re voting for, one vote per ballot.”
Secret votes are prohibited. People also can submit additional names for consideration at Monday’s meeting, according to the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service. Nine people already have declared an interest in the seat.
Skillern said he would first invite nominations from the public.
Skillern said there is no tie-breaking vote in the event that commissioners deadlock on their decision.
“You just keep voting until somebody changes their vote,” Skillern said.
Skillern did not think there would be a tie vote.
Contact staff writer Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisen hunt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DWhisenhunt.