Reedy, Vallejos lead field interested in replacing Sen. Green

Interest is growing in who will replace state Sen. Mark Green in the legislature following his confirmation as Secretary of the Army.

Dist. 74 Rep. Jay Reedy and Montgomery County Commissioner Tommy Vallejos are among the names circulating to succeed Green.

Reedy, who lives in Erin, confirmed during a recent Houston County town hall meeting that he is seriously considering running for Green’s District 22 Senate seat, which represents Montgomery, Stewart and Houston counties.  Vallejos confirmed that he is also looking at doing the same.

If so, the two would face off in a Republican primary election, but Vallejos could be running as incumbent for the vacant seat by virtue of the state’s procedure for replacing a state senator.

According to the state Election Commission, if Green’s resignation comes longer than one year prior to the next general election, which will in November 2018, a special election will be required.

►RELATED: LGBT advocates ‘deeply concerned’ with Mark Green nomination as Army secretary

In the unlikely event, Green’s Congressional confirmation is delayed beyond Nov. 6, a successor would then be elected during the 2018 General Election.

In either scenario, the “legislative body of the replaced legislator’s county of residence may elect an interim successor to serve until the election,” according to state law. In this case, the legislative body is the Montgomery County Commission, upon which Vallejos has served since 2010.

Reedy, who represents Houston, Humphreys and western Montgomery counties, said Green asked him to run for his seat.

“I was kind of surprised by it,” said Reedy, who just began his second term in the state House. “I asked him, ‘Do you think I’m ready?’ He said, ‘Jay, you’re the hardest working and most honest person I know in Nashville.’ I was very humbled to hear him say that.”

Vallejos, who is friends with Reedy and even contributed to his campaign, said the District 74 Republican would be “the establishment candidate.”

“At the end of it, I don’t want us to be divided,” he said.

Vallejos, a minister who has been active in politics for several years as well as an advocate for the Hispanic community, said while he has yet to decide or formally announce he will run , the naysayers have already begun their opposition.

“The far left is attacking me on social media – the gays,” he said. "And people are saying there will be no separation of church and state with me. But I will hold up to Godly values.”

He added that conservatives are critical that he will push Hispanic issues while others say “I’ve forgotten I’m Hispanic. But I’m American! It’s easy to attack me on these issues.”

Reedy and Vallejos said other people they've heard who are interested in seeking the senate seat are Clarksville City Council members Jeff Burkhart, Bill Powers and Joel Wallace, as well as Lori Luton Smith, who opposed Green in the last Republican primary.

Special election

A special election will be conducted like a regular election in the three counties of District 22, but the governor will set the timeline into motion for the election dates by filing “writs of election” after Green's resignation, according to the state Election Commission. The primary would be 55 to 60 days from the date of the writs, and the general election would be 100 to 107 days from date of the writs.

Qualifying deadline for all candidates is noon on the sixth Thursday before the primary election.

Election offices in Montgomery, Stewart and Houston counties are already making preparations for the expected special election. Letters have been sent to ensure various polling locations across the counties will be available whenever the special election is scheduled.

“We want to check if there is any reason we might not be able to use a facility,” said Elizabeth Black, Montgomery County Administrator of Elections. “During the summer, a school could have a band camp or wrestling tournament that we need to know about for our planning.”

In addition to securing polling places, the Election Offices have to conduct all of the other duties associated with a regular election, from verifying that candidates are qualified to run to verifying residents are qualified to vote on Election Day.

“We want to encourage everyone to go ahead and make sure their address and information is up-to-date with the Election Office,” said Annett Pulley, Houston County Administrator of Elections. “It’s the same process for voters.”

Added Black: “Only the size of the ballot will be different. It will be a much small ballot, and we expect a smaller turnout, but you never know. We hope people will come out and vote whether there are two people on the ballot or 200.”

Stewart County Administrator of Elections Nellie Anderson said the size of the ballot generally dictates the cost of conducting an election.

“Our biggest ballots are for the County General (election) when you have people running for nearly every county office,” she said. “It costs more to advertise the bigger ballot in the newspaper, which we have to do by law.”

An election costs between $14,000 and $15,000 in Stewart County. The cost is about $16,000 in Houston County, and in Montgomery County, the cost is roughly $150,000 per election.

The state will reimburse the counties the costs of conducting the special elections.

Mark Hicks can be reached at 931-212-7626 or on Twitter: @markhicksleaf.