Vice Mayor Mark Brown resigned from Knoxville's City Council on Friday, January 30, 2009, to accept an appointment as a Knox County Judicial Commissioner.
City Council met in a special called meeting February 3, 2009, to determine the process for appointing an individual to fill out former Councilman Brown term in office.
As a result of that meeting City Council is currently accepting applications to fill the vacant Sixth District seat on the Council.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Individuals interested in being considered for the Sixth District seat must complete a Sixth District Candidate Form in person at the Knoxville City Council office - located in Room 460 in the City County Building - by 3 p.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2009. The candidates must present a valid Tennessee driver's license or state-issued identification reflecting their current address and may also, if they wish, include a resume.
Fax or email submissions will not be accepted.
Those seeking the position must be at least 21-years-old and have been a resident of the Sixth District for at least one year. They cannot be a City of Knoxville employee or currently hold another elective office.
The Sixth District is the most geographically far-flung district in the city with the western limit lying along the intersection of Hollywood and Sutherland Avenue and stretching east as far as Chilhowee Drive. Most of the district, however, is centered in the downtown area and in the neighborhoods bordering Magnolia Avenue.
The appointee will fill out the unexpired term of former Vice Mayor Brown.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
City Council will select an individual to fill the Sixth District seat during a meeting at 6 p.m., Thursday, February 12, 2009, in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.
Each applicant will be allowed a presentation of up to five minutes followed by a question and answer session conducted by City Council. That will be followed by a public forum in which persons who have signed up may speak to the qualifications of that candidate. Public forum speakers can sign up from 5:30 p.m. until 6 p.m.
The public forum for each candidate will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes per candidate. That means, for example, if five people want to speak about a particular candidate they would each have two minutes to express their views.
Following the presentations and public forum Council will convene a special called City Council meeting to elect the Sixth District Councilmember.
Council will conduct a roll call vote on all the nominees. Six votes are required for the appointment.
If no individual receives six votes on the first ballot the applicant or applicants receiving the fewest votes will be dropped from consideration.
The balloting will continue until an applicant receives six votes. Immediately following the vote that person will be sworn in as the Sixth District Councilmember.