Kelsey’s Choice

By Kleinheider Posted on August 22, 2009 at 1:07 pm

From Tom Humphrey:

Reportedly, Kelsey is being urged by some in the party to resign his House seat before the election. Under state law, if a seat becomes vacant more than a year before the next scheduled general election - November, 2010, in this case - then a special election is held to choose a successor.

If less than a year remains in a term, then the county commission of the incumbent’s county of residence selects an interim successor to serve until the regularly-scheduled election.

Thus, if Kelsey waits until December to resign, the Shelby County Commission - which has a Democratic majority - would choose a temporary successor. If that were to be a Democrat, the Republicans could lose their current 50-49 majority (counting House Speaker Kent Williams as a Republican) and the Democrats would have a 50-49 majority for the 2010 legislative session.

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