With only eight commissioners attending the Cannon County Commissioners monthly meeting Saturday, the appointment of the new Circuit Court Clerk will have to be put off until the February meeting. Six Commission votes were needed to officially place a new person in the office. Lynne Foster submitted her resignation of the office last month which was to serve as her retirement from the office. The qualifications were simply that a person had to be 18 years of age or older. A resident of Cannon County for at least one year. Must be nominated by the Cannon County Commission. The nominations themselves do not require a second. The position was advertised for two weeks and the person nominated will serve until the end of 2018. Commissioner Mark Barker nominated Katina George for the position. George has served in the Circuit Court Clerk’s office for 15 years as Deputy Clerk.
Commissioner Karen Ashford made a nomination of Hayden Bryson to the office. Bryson ran in the last circuit court clerk position election.
Before the voting began, Commissioner Glenn Steakley asked Ms. George if she planned to continue to employ her sister Karla Kemp in the office. Ms. George stated that she would continue and also expressed intentions to run for the office in the 2018 election. Mr. Bryson stated that if he took the office position he hasn’t had any discussions on hiring any relatives but also that he doesn’t look to hire any relatives to work in the office. He also said that his intentions to run for the office in the 2018 depended on the outcome of the decision of the Commission and if they elected him to the office or not.
When it came time to vote, none of the commissioners present would budge on their initial vote. Commissioners Richie Hunter, Jim Bush and Mark Barker voted for Katrina George.
Commissioners Russell Reed, Karen Ashford, James Holloway, Glenn Steakley and Adam Melton voted Hayden Bryson’s way. Commissioners Todd Hollandsworth and Brent Bust were absent from the meeting. With the vote needing 6 commissioners to pass, the matter will have to be moved to the February agenda as after three rounds of voting, none of the commissioners which attended them meeting changed their vote.
