By Wane A. Hailes
A Perfect Appointment
According to the City Charter, the council appoints someone to fill the remainder of a councilor’s term if at least a year and a half of that term has been served. Barnes was in his 23rd month of his current four-year term.
Again, according to the city charter, you need at least 90 days’ notice for a District 1 special election to be on the May 21 ballot. That means that the City Council will appoint the person who will serve out the rest of Councilor Jerry “Pops” Barnes’s term.
That person will serve until May of 2026.
Councilor Bruce Huff has spoken with and will recommend Calvin Smyre, a former State Representative, who is currently a Representative of the United States to the 78th United Nations General Assembly.
Smyre is the perfect choice to serve. He is a life-long resident of District 1 and the same constituents who voted for Councilor Barnes for the past 20 years have voted for and elected Smyre for the past 49 years.
A precedent was set in 2014 when former State Representative Tom Buck was appointed to fill out Councilor Red McDaniel’s term who passed away due to acute pancreatitis.
Although he is grieving the recent loss of his father, Chief Warrant Officer Carter Smyre, Jr., he has agreed to be called back into service for the benefit of his community, which is the kind of public servant we need.
Well-known and respected throughout the nation and state, Calvin Smyre is a proven consensus builder, well-versed in government operations and adept at navigating the complexities of economic development projects and budgets.
His expertise and experience would bring much-needed civility back to our city council.
It would be a travesty of justice if our city council did not unanimously elect this Statesman the former Dean of the House Calvin Smyre.
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