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Buchanan steps down; Dems to choose successor
By Lynn Hotaling
After last week’s announcement that he would leave his post as the county’s top elected official in June, former Commissioners’ Chairman Stacy Buchanan had another surprise up his sleeve: his resignation would take place immediately.
Stunned county commissioners learned of Buchanan’s decision late Monday afternoon (March 7), only an hour or so before their 6 p.m. session, which Buchanan did not attend.
In a prepared statement, the former chairman indicated that resigning sooner rather than later would ease the transition to a new leader.
“It now seems appropriate in order to ensure a quicker and smoother transition for the new chairman that I step down effective immediately so the process of naming my replacement can begin,” he wrote.
Buchanan, who said Feb. 28 that he would resign in June to concentrate on his teaching and coaching careers, could not be reached Tuesday for additional comment.
By vacating his office, Buchanan did remove any ambiguity with regard to exactly when Jackson County’s Democratic Executive Committee could choose his replacement.
DEC Chairman Nelson Bumgarner said last week that it was unclear whether local Democrats could select Buchanan’s successor right away or whether they would have to wait until June. State statutes stipulate that the party choose a successor within 30 days of the elected official’s resignation.
Bumgarner said Tuesday that he has tentatively scheduled a meeting of the DEC for Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. at the Justice Center with the intent of settling on a new commissioners’ chairman.
State statutes give political parties authority to choose successors for public officials who leave office before their term is up if those officials were elected as nominees of that political party, Bumgarner said. The party’s nominee is automatically approved so long as that recommendation comes within 30 days of the official’s exit from office, he said.
With regard to Buchanan’s position, Bumgarner said the DEC has until April 6 to name a replacement.
The party can choose a current commissioner or anyone else who lives in the county, Bumgarner said.
Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Roberta Crawford said Feb. 28 that she hoped the DEC would select the new chairman from among the members of the current county commission, though she also said she was not interested in the job.
All of Jackson County’s current commissioners were elected as Democrats. In addition to Crawford, remaining commissioners are Eddie Madden, Joe Cowan and Brian McMahan. Should one of those four be named chairman, the DEC would then choose another county resident from the appropriate district to fill the vacancy.
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