School Board Appointment Could Provide a Preview for Next Month’s Decision to Fill the Late Rep. Jeff Burkhart’s Seat

Representative Jeff Burkhart and the Montgomery County Courthouse (Photo by the Tennessee General Assembly and Montgomery County)

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.”

Preview of District 75 Appointment

The school board vote could offer skepticism that Montgomery County’s politically divided commission might decide to fill the vacant House District 75 seat with a Democrat.

State Representative Jeff Burkhart, R-Clarksville, had held the seat since winning the 2022 election, but he died last week. Commissioners plan to appoint an interim representative to serve out the remainder of his term next month.

“Representative Burkhart was a dedicated public servant whose work left a lasting impact on our community. Jeff will be remembered for his leadership, commitment to the people he served, and dedication to improving the lives of Tennesseans. As we mourn his loss, we must also ensure that the residents of District 75 continue to have representation at the state level. The nomination process will allow us to ensure the constituents are represented while honoring his legacy of service,” said Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden in a press release.

Going into the 2024 election, Democrats eyed House District 75 as a potential pickup, and it became one of the few competitive general election races that year. Burkhart beat Democratic challenger Allie Phillips by less than 2,000 votes.

A Democratic nominee could win the House District 75 interim appointment with the support of a majority of those five independent commissioners, but the recent school board decision, where four of the five voted for Crosslin, isn’t the only reason to be skeptical.

Shelton is the only independent commissioner to publicly endorse Representative Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, in next month’s election to fill U.S. Congressman Mark Green’s seat. Fellow independent commissioner Joshua Beal endorsed Behn’s opponent, Republican Matt Van Epps, in the race, and two other independent commissioners endorsed Republicans in last year’s House District 68 race eventually won by Aron Maberry, R-Clarksville.

Nominees Now Accepted

Montgomery County voters will learn more about the candidates for the House seat in the coming weeks. The county is currently accepting nominations for the vacant seat and will continue accepting them until noon on November 26.

Candidates must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a citizen of Tennessee for 3 years, and a resident within and a qualified voter of House District 75 for 1 year. Interested candidates may submit a letter of interest, current resume, and a copy of their current voter registration card to Montgomery County Chief of Staff Lee Harrell at lharrell@montgomerytn.gov.

The commission plans to give each qualified candidate 5 minutes to speak at its December 1 meeting before making an appointment on December 8, 2025