And the appointment goes to ...
Outgoing Rocky Top mayor picks candidate who lost to replace former councilman
Richard Dawson (standing) takes his seat at the Rocky Top City Council table on Thurs- day, Nov. 17, after being sworn in to replace Councilman Justin Job, who resigned in October. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Sharp’s motion to appoint Dawson was seconded by outgoing Councilwoman Denise Casteel, and was approved 4-0 by the remaining council members.
Dawson, who works for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, was unsuccessful in his bid for one of two available council seats in the Nov. 8 election.
Templin unseated the longtime mayor, Sharp, on Nov. 8, taking 82 percent of the vote – 265-57.
Out of the five people running for the two council seats, two candidates aligned with Templin – Jeff Gilliam, with 227 votes, and Mack Bunch, with 210 votes – defeated the two incumbents, Casteel and Tony Devaney, and Dawson. Casteel came in third, with 76 votes, while Dawson was fourth with 45. Devaney polled fifth, with 39 votes.
Rocky Top council seats are four-year terms, with two seats up for election every other year. Job and Councilman Zack Green, who were re-elected in 2020, still had two years left on their terms. The mayor serves four years, as well.
Job, who also was vice mayor, told The Courier News that he resigned following the end of the council’s Oct. 20 meeting because he and his family are on the verge of moving out of Rocky Top.
“It was not a political decision,” he said. “We are looking to move out of town. And with my job being so busy, I don’t feel like I’m giving enough time to the town. I hope they can get someone who can serve in a more-stable role.”
Job is a data supervisor for Anderson County Schools.
Sharp said just before the meeting Thursday afternoon that he intended to appoint Dawson to the council seat to fill out Job’s term.
Templin said he objected to the idea of Sharp choosing who would fill the seat, especially with just two weeks left in Sharp’s term as mayor.
“I was disappointed that he did that,” Templin said Monday. “That was done by a lame-duck council and mayor. Without lame-duck votes, they wouldn’t have had a majority. I believe with this short amount of time left, they should have waited for the new mayor and board to fill the seat.
“But it was a done deal. They had already decided they were going to do it.”
Templin did raise a question during the appointment process Thursday night about Dawson’s qualifications to serve on council while also being a part-time city employee.
He told The Courier News that “Mr. Dawson registered as a candidate on the 18th of August, and he continued to work shifts as a part-time Rocky Top police officer after that date. I have an ethical issue with that.”
Sharp said after Thursday’s meeting that there is no procedure that would allow the new mayor and council majority to reverse Sharp’s appointment of Dawson to the council seat after they take office.
Dawson’s appointment came at the start of Thursday’s meeting, and he was immediately sworn in and took his seat at the council table after the vote.
Sharp was seeking his fourth term as mayor. Casteel was seeking her second term on the council, while Devaney was seeking his first full term after being appointed by the council in October 2019 to serve the unexpired term of Brian Brown, who resigned for health reasons.
Templin is a lifelong resident of the area whose father, George Templin, served as mayor and city councilman in the 1980s, and ran Cooper Supply Co., a former local hardware store.