Last week’s decision to name Teresa Crosslin to fill a vacant seat on the Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education could provide a preview of next month’s appointment to the Tennessee General Assembly.¶
Montgomery County Commissioners voted 11 to 8 to appoint Crosslin over fellow nominee Darryl Anderson in a move that at least one commissioner felt was influenced by political parties.¶
The Montgomery County Commission has eight Republicans and seven Democrats, along with District 8 Commissioner LaTonia Brown, who was appointed last March to replace Democrat Tangi Smith.¶
The commission additionally has five candidates who ran as independents, including David Wayne Shelton, who criticized what he called the “partisan politics” of the school board vote. Every Republican member of the commission voted for Crosslin, who has also been identified as a Republican by the Montgomery County GOP chapter.¶
“I was proud to vote for Darryl Anderson and I hope he decides to run for the seat next year. I stand on the fact that he was the most educated and by far the most experienced of the four candidates vying for this role,” wrote Shelton on social media. “It’s just unfortunate that partisan politics came into play for this decision. I congratulate the winner, but the reality is that at the end of the day, I do not believe that merit was really considered by the majority.”¶
