Plan formed for interim representative in District 86; Person named likely to be elected
Shelby County Commissioners will on Feb. 1 appoint an interim representative to fill former State Rep. Barbara Cooper’s seat in the state House of Representatives, representing District 86.
But there’s a catch: The plan proposed by Chairman Mickell Lowery is to appoint the person already chosen by the public in the Jan. 24 primary for the seat, allowing that person to start work in the legislature sooner.
The timing of the election means the seat, without an interim appointment, will be vacant during the upcoming session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Cooper, first elected in 1996, died Oct. 25. She won reelection posthumously on Nov. 8, defeating independent Michael Porter by 56 percentage points. The seat stretches north and south along the Mississippi River, going from Southwest Memphis through Downtown to Millington.
She was the oldest member of the Tennessee General Assembly and among the oldest Democrats serving in office nationwide.
As of the deadline last week to file a petition, 12 people had entered the Democratic primaries. Out of those 12, one withdrew and one did not have enough signatures, leaving 10 in the primary.
No candidate qualified in the Republican primary and no one entered as an Independent.
Because of that, the winner of the primary will be the default winner of the seat.
“What this (resolution) here is saying on our committee day … that we will appoint the person who was elected by the people so they can go immediately and start participating, voting, advocating,” Lowery said.
The interim appointment will last until the primary is certified.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Plan formed to name interim representative to Barbara Cooper's former seat
