Under a 1991 Tennessee law there might be more than one name on the ballot for the District 2 school board race in Hamilton County this August.
Tom Decosimo already plans to be on it.
Decosimo announced he would run as a write-in candidate for the seat last week, after incumbent Kathy Lennon withdrew from the race at the last minute.
The long-time businessman and civic leader said he feels called to serve on the school board. He believes a business background like his is needed on the school board and he hopes that his relationships with other school board members and the Hamilton County Commission will help bring the two governing bodies together.
He also was prepared to get his name on the ballot as soon as the Hamilton County Election Commission announced the extension Tuesday.
A state law called the Anti-Skullduggery Act of 1991 requires the election commission to extend the qualifying deadline since the incumbent withdrew her name on the seventh day after the qualifying deadline.
"TCA 2-5-101(h) permits additional candidates to qualify for an office no later than 12 noon, prevailing time, on the seventh day after the original withdrawal deadline if an incumbent for such office is a candidate for a primary or a nonpartisan general election and if such incumbent dies or properly withdraws on the last day of the qualifying deadline or prior to 12 noon, prevailing time, on the seventh day after the qualifying deadline," said Kerry Steelman, administrator of elections for Hamilton County, by email.
Before the extension - which allows new candidates to pick up papers and seek to qualify by noon on Thursday, April 16 - only Marco Perez, a newcomer to Hamilton County politics, was on the ballot.
Perez said the commission notified him Monday night of the provision.
"I never thought I would run unopposed," Perez told the Times Free Press. "I think democracy is served when we can exercise our ideas in the public realm. Right now, my prayers are with the people of Chattanooga and what we are going through. I do hope we can seek the best solutions for the students of Hamilton County."
The Good Government PAC, a conservative political action committee affiliated with the Good Government Coalition, announced its endorsement of Decosimo last week, along with candidates in two of the school board races. Decosimo previously was the treasurer for the organization and the PAC, which he co-founded, but he told the Times Free Press that he and the organization are in the process of separating him from the PAC.
Decosimo noted that he plans to run a vigorous campaign - he doesn't plan to take anything for granted and intends to end up serving District 2.
Former Red Bank Mayor John Roberts also initially announced his candidacy in February, but didn't qualify to run. It's not clear if Roberts will also again seek to qualify.
Four seats are up on the school board including District 1, District 2, District 4 and District 7 on the August general election ballot.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.