Deadlocked and steadfast

Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger

A tie vote Monday on who should replace Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey left county commissioners looking for a way to move forward before Ramsey leaves office in January.

Commissioners each defended their vote after they split 4-4 between fellow Commissioner Jim Coppinger and special assistant to the mayor Mike Carter. None indicated they could vote differently when the commission meets again Jan. 5.

Commissioners took two votes Monday morning and each time came up with the same result.

"We need to let the process work itself out," Coppinger said.

Ramsey leaves Jan. 11 to join the administration of Gov.-elect Bill Haslam.

The deadlock gives Commission Chairman Fred Skillern more say-so in who will ultimately become the county mayor. As the chairman, Skillern, who supported Coppinger, casts the final vote. If the commission cannot decide on a replacement before Jan. 11, Skillern becomes the interim mayor, reducing the number of commissioners voting on the permanent mayor to seven.

According to County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, approval would still require five commission votes.

Taylor said the commission has until April 9 -- 120 days from Ramsey's Dec. 9 letter of resignation -- to pick a permanent mayor. Commissioners would be violating state law if they did not choose a mayor by April 9, Taylor said.

Skillern said he is not interested in becoming mayor and did not vote for Carter -- which would've given him five votes -- because of his steadfast support for Coppinger.

"I'm going to give every opportunity for the tie to break," he said.

Carter said the vote showed commissioners are carefully considering their options.

"I think it just shows the extraordinary effort commissioners have gone to," he said.

Implications

Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press Mike Carter talks with reporters outside the Hamilton County Commission room on Monday morning after commissioners deadlocked on making a choice between Carter and Commissioner Jim Coppinger to replace County Mayor Claude Ramsey, who will resign Jan. 11.

There was no prevailing theory about why commissioners voted the way they did Monday, but there was plenty of analysis about the implications.

Delores Vinson, chairwoman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said some within the party were concerned about Carter's relationship with Ramsey. It has been widely reported that Carter is Ramsey's cousin, though Carter said that, if that's the case, it's a distant relationship.

"I know Republicans are a little leery, a little suspicious of familial connections people have working for the government," Vinson said.

She said she had expected Bankston and Boyd to support Coppinger and was surprised they supported Carter.

Bankston had no comment on his vote; Boyd said he favored Carter because of his "creative thinking."

Richard Wilson, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, saw division between members of the commission elected in November and commissioners re-elected to office.

Commissioners Larry Henry and Skillern teamed with new commissioners Jim Fields and Joe Graham in supporting Coppinger, their fellow commissioner. Commissioners Warren Mackey and Greg Beck teamed up with new commissioners Boyd and Bankston in support of Carter.

Wilson said Skillern's decision to tie up the vote by supporting Coppinger shows Skillern "didn't particularly favor Carter."

"They'll vote again and somebody's going to have to move," Wilson said.

Also noteworthy was the vote of the commission's two Democrats -- Mackey and Beck -- who threw their support behind Carter, who's Republican.

Both men said their votes had nothing to do with party affiliation.

"I cannot emphasize enough -- mine is always going to be a nonpartisan vote," Mackey said.

Beck said his constituents favor Carter.

Other candidates

Should the commission remain at an impasse, Wilson said other candidates might emerge as a compromise.

Taylor said other candidates are in play if the commission decides to open the process up to other nominations.

There were seven other candidates who applied for the job, including Hamilton County Register of Deeds Pam Hurst. But the commission narrowed the list to only Coppinger and Carter.

"If they deadlock forever, you do look at a dark horse candidate emerging," Wilson said. "Sometimes the only way they can move is to go to a third person."

Skillern said a third compromise candidate is a possibility and allowable under the rules. But he didn't think it would come to that.

"I personally just don't think it'll deadlock forever," Skillern said. "I think this cooling-off period, there'll be some changes made. I don't know what they'll be. There may be some questions answered."

Contact staff writer Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DWhisenhunt.