| Election commission seeks attorney for suit |
By: Sabrina Bates, News Editor
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Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009 8:50 am
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After targeted in a local lawsuit by former Weakley County Administrator of Elections Diane Cashon, the election commission will soon enter the legal arena.
During a brief meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Weakley County Election Commission made the decision to send Chairman Wayne Chester to seek legal advice from the county attorney as well as the local government insurance pool.
“This is to see what other options we might have and to find out who will represent us in this suit,” Chester said. “I have met with the county mayor to see what the county will or will not participate in and to see if the county has some form of legal insurance,” he added.
Cashon filed suit against the county election commission last month in Weakley County Chancery Court. The suit claims three of the commissioners from the election board violated the state’s open meetings law.
According to the lawsuit, the Republican election commission members met and decided to oust Cashon from her position as Administrator of Elections and named a replacement during closed meetings.
“Typically, from the legal standpoint, we have two options: we can fight this and let a judge decide or we can settle,” Democrat Election Commissioner Beau Pemberton announced during the meeting.
With three Republicans seated on the commission and making up the majority of board members, Cashon was ousted from her position in a political move in April.
She has since filed a federal lawsuit with six former administrator of elections from across the state and one current officeholder in a move to get reinstated to office.
Their attorney, Gary Blackburn has stated the dismissal of the elections administrators based on political party affiliation is a violation of their Constitutional rights.
In a similar statement released months ago by State Attorney General Bob Cooper, politically motivated firings could be found unconstitutional. Across the state, more than 30 counties have replaced Democrat-appointed administrators of elections with Republican appointees when the majority party in the Tennessee General Assembly shifted to Republican.
Five of those ousted administrators have since filed suits seeking damages, back pay and reinstatements. Blackburn and his firm now represent seven former office holders and one current elections administrator.
A recent State Attorney General’s opinion cites county governments are responsible for paying any resulting legal expenses incurred with the lawsuits.
“ ... The county has the obligation to pay for the fees and expenses associated with legal representation of a county election commission in such a lawsuit,” AG Opinion 124 notes.
After board members adjourned Wednesday afternoon, they met in a closed session to discuss the pending litigation.
Cashon’s replacement, Barbara Castleman, has been named a defendant in the federal suit, while the election commission is targeted in the county lawsuit filed by Cashon. |
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