Chattanooga City Councilman Anthony Byrd has unanimously been appointed to the position of city court clerk.
Byrd, of Orchard Knob, who was re-elected for a second four-year term last year, stopped participating in council votes when appointed to avoid a conflict of interest. He will officially resign now that the appointment by Mayor Tim Kelly has been approved by council members.
"I love you guys so much, and I'm going to keep you in my prayers, and I'm going to leave here fighting with you," Byrd said during a Tuesday night council meeting.
(READ MORE: Anthony Byrd vacating Chattanooga City Council seat to take over as city court clerk)
Council members will now look for an interim council member and direct the Hamilton County Election Commission to include the election of a replacement on the August general election ballot.
If the city's resolution calling for a special election is approved by the commission, beginning Feb. 16 and lasting until noon March 1, residents will be able to send applications to Nicole Gwyn, the city council clerk, at nsgwyn@ chattanooga.gov.
Any applicant must be at least 21 years old and have lived in the district for at least one year.
District 8 includes the following precincts:
- Amnicola.
- Avondale.
- Bushtown.
- Courthouse 1 and 2.
- Eastside 1 and 2.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County mayoral candidates to participate in first debate)
City council members will hold three-minute interviews with each candidate during their March 8 meeting and will subsequently vote on their pick.
Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com or 814-319-5158. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.