If Todd Jordan becomes Tupelo's next mayor, what happens to his supervisor seat?
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May 11—TUPELO — If Republican nominee Todd Jordan is elected Tupelo's next mayor, then Lee County voters will face a special election to fill the District 3 seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Camille Roberts Dulaney, the Lee County circuit clerk, told the Daily Journal that if Jordan vacates his county office, then a special election will be held this upcoming November. The special election would be for the remainder of Jordan's term, which is up at the end of 2023.
But state law also allows supervisors to temporarily appoint someone to fill a vacancy until a special election.
So the potential vacancy still leaves an important question: If Jordan wins the mayor's race on June 8, who would, at least temporarily, fill his open seat on the county board until a special election could be conducted in November?
Traditionally, Lee County supervisors have appointed a family member of the elected official who vacated the seat — an idea that at least one supervisor is open to continuing.
"I always try to appoint a family member," District 1 Supervisor Phil Morgan said. "A spouse or a child."
Neither of Jordan's children meet the age requirement to serve, so Morgan said that he's receptive to the idea of appointing Todd Jordan's wife, Christy Jordan, to the District 3 seat if it becomes vacant.
District 4 Supervisor Tommie Lee Ivy, the only Democrat on the board and currently the longest serving member of the board, said that he had no objections to Christy Jordan being appointed to the board, but he believes it's too early to make any kind of informal decision.
"I hate to make a decision on that right now," Ivy said. "I've just got to wait and see what will happen in the election."
Neither District 2 Supervisor Mike Smith nor District 5 Supervisor Billy Joe Holland returned requests for comment about who they would support to fill Todd Jordan's seat if it becomes vacant.
Christy Jordan said in a statement to the Daily Journal that should her husband win the mayoral race, she would consider temporarily serving on the county board and that she could "carry out his vision."
"I know the importance of listening to constituents and putting in the effort to make District 3 a safe and prosperous place to live," Christy Jordan said. "One thing that I've learned through watching my husband is that he is proactive and the citizens take pride in this kind of leadership."
Christy Jordan did not say if she would consider running in a special election to complete her husband's term as a county supervisor.
Jordan is currently an administrator in the Tupelo Public School District, where she has been employed for nearly 25 years. She has also worked for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Mississippi Department of Transportation as a math and science trainer.
The general election for Tupelo's municipal election is June 8. The winner of the mayoral race — either Jordan or his Democratic opponent, Victor Fleitas — will take office on July 1.
