The winner of the Nov. 3 election for Bledsoe County trustee has declined to assume the job, citing health issues.
Republican Matt Fields won a five-way race for the trustee's seat by more than 1,600 votes over the second-place contender. But he says he cannot accept the post in light of his health and the possibility he will not be able to perform his duties, according to a letter submitted to county Mayor Gregg Ridley and County Commission Chair Craig Mercer.
Bledsoe County commissioners will vote Dec. 15 to appoint someone to hold the now-vacant post until it goes back on the ballot in 2022, Ridley said Monday.
Fields, 43, couldn't be reached for comment Monday, but in his letter he gave his reasons for declining the job.
"After careful deliberation and prayer, I have concluded that the management and protection of the revenues entrusted to the county trustee for Bledsoe County and the general interests of the citizens of our county will be better served through the appointment and/or election of another individual to the office of county trustee," Fields wrote in his letter, dated Nov. 19.
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"Upon a thorough investigation and an in-depth examination of the various statutory duties assigned to the county trustee, I now find that my health and well-being prevent me from having the confidence in my ability to heedfully perform the job for which I was elected," Fields said.
The trustee serves as a tax collector and treasurer for the county and keeps an accounting of all funds received. Fields did not name a specific illness that would stand in the way of those duties.
Ridley said Monday that he had known Fields for several years but hadn't talked to him since his health issues arose and did not know what illness was involved.
Five candidates vied for the seat on Nov. 3.
Republican and Democratic candidates were chosen by party caucus after incumbent Deanna Rains' Sept. 1 retirement, officials said. After the November vote was tallied, Fields received 2,950 votes to Democratic challenger Jill H. Nale's 1,285, followed by independents Tracey Cagle with 671, Shayne Bickford with 434 and Calie Ford Pendergrass with 325, election results show.
Cagle, a former trustee's office employee, had been appointed to the post as interim trustee by the county commission after Rains and will continue to serve in the post until it is filled, officials said.
"This is a county commission decision," Ridley said of the trustee appointment, noting the county mayor has no role in the decision-making process. Ridley said he has placed an advertisement in the local newspaper calling for interested parties to throw names into the hat and describing the process for nomination.
HOW TO NOMINATE
Registered voters of Bledsoe County may submit names of people to fill the vacancy for the office of Bledsoe County trustee through the Bledsoe County Commission. Such names may be submitted in writing to County Commission Chair Craig Mercer before the Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, commission meeting, or to the Bledsoe County Commission in person at the Dec. 15 meeting.If your name is submitted by mail and you cannot attend the Dec. 15 commission meeting, you must provide a written communication verifying you are willing to be appointed. In order to be considered, a commissioner must nominate a person to be voted on by the full commission. The nominee selected to fill the vacancy shall serve until a successor is elected at the August 2022 general election. Names of nominees may be mailed to:Craig Mercer, Bledsoe County Commission chairmanP.O. Box 149Pikeville, TN 37367
"In order to be considered, a commissioner must nominate an individual to be voted on by the full commission," the public notice states. "The nominee selected to fill the vacancy shall serve until a successor is elected at the August 2022 general election."
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Fields has run for county trustee before, election records show. He lost a two-way race for the seat in 2014 to incumbent Democrat Rains, who retired this year. Rains announced her retirement in May, according to reports in the Bledsonian Banner newspaper in Pikeville.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.