Field narrowed to eight for administrator of elections

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Members of the Cumberland County Election Commission, clockwise, Lisa Phillips, Bob Austin, Chairman Calvin Smart, Denver Cole and Thomas Henderson, select the eight finalists for the administrator of elections position. A second round of interviews will be held Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. at the Election Commission office.

August 4, 2009

By Gary Nelson / gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com The Crossville Chronicle Tue Aug 04, 2009, 09:40 PM CDT

Monday evening the Cumberland County Election Commission narrowed the field down from 21 to eight candidates applying for the position of administrator of elections.

Election Commission Chairman Calvin Smart said after thinking about it he felt it would be best to narrow the field down to the top candidates that the commission liked, allow them a chance to submit any additional material such as updated resumes and then invite those candidates back for a final interview next Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. to make the final decision.

Commissioner Thomas Henderson motioned to do such and it was supported by Commissioner Denver Cole and Smart.

Commissioners Lisa Phillips and Bob Austin voted against it, but were defeated in a 3-2 vote.

"There's been a lot of discussion in the public on how this has not been a fair process and I want to make sure it is fair ...," Smart said.

"I thought we could only ask certain questions and they had to be in at a certain time. Now it's changed," Phillips said.

"Anyone can ask any questions of the candidates they want," Smart said.

Smart then said all of the candidates for the position were checked by Election Commission employee Patricia Jolley for their background and none had a criminal record.

Any of the final eight candidates who wish to update their resumes are now required to submit any additional information to the election commission by noon, Thursday, Aug. 6.

The commission had 21 candidates and three chose to remove their name before the interviewing process.

The 18 candidates were Janice Crabtree, Patrick Dean, Alexis Denton, Teresa Graham, Derrick Hodge, Brian Jones, Michelle Jones, Gordon Linkous, Renee Morphew, Debra Robeson, Miranda Sherrill, Billy Smith, Suzanne Smith, Robert Paul Swafford, Machelle Tenbroeke, Sharon Tollett, Teresa Wilson and Sharon York.

Four of those 18 candidates who did not attend the interview were Michelle Jones, Miranda Sherrill, Billy Smith and Sharon Tollett. Teresa Wilson arrived late, but left before she was interviewed by the commission. That left a total of 13 candidates interviewed Monday evening.

Each candidate was interviewed individually while the remaining candidates were asked to stay in the lobby. Two Tennessee Highway Patrol officers were there for security and the election commission's newly hired attorney Jeff Ward of Munford, TN, also attended.

After the interviews Dennis Hatler spoke from the floor, asking, "Are the taxpayers going to have to pay for the attorney being here?"

"Eventually, yes I guess they will ...," Smart responded.

Election commissioners evaluated applicants on their education level, then knowledge and experience in the areas of administrative, managerial, instructional, communication, budgetarial, purchasing, promotional, legal and general office skills.

Lisa Phillips also asked each candidate if they would be willing to leave their current employment and devote their time to running the election commission office between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. She also asked each of them why they wanted to be the administrator of elections.

After the interviews the commissioners took a 10-minute break to review the candidates and pick who they wanted to see back for the final interview.

Phillips recommended seeing Brian Jones, Teresa Graham and Suzanne Smith. Austin recommended seeing Brian Jones, Suzanne Smith, Gordon Linkous and Machelle Tenbroeke. Cole recommended seeing Sharon York, Suzanne Smith and Alexis Denton. Henderson recommended seeing Patrick Dean, Alexis Denton, Brian Jones and Sharon York.

Phillips then asked Smart who he chose and he said he didn't need to tell because they were all duplicate.

"I'm asking for the minutes," Phillips said.

Smart recommended seeing Alexis Denton, Teresa Graham and Sharon York.

The final eight candidates are in no particular order, Brian Jones, Teresa Graham, Suzanne Smith, Gordon Linkous, Machelle Tenbroeke, Alexis Denton, Patrick Dean and Sharon York.

The candidates will be interviewed again in detail Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 4 p.m. at the election commission office on Main St. across from the Cumberland County Courthouse.

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