Official Response from City of Millington
Date: November 18, 2016
Legal Opinion Sought Which May Impact Recent Millington Municipal Elections
An Alderman candidate in the recent Millington Municipal Election questioned if a Millington Municipal School Board employee was considered a Millington City employee. The reason for the question is simple. If an employee of Millington Municipal Schools is considered an employee of the City of Millington, that employee would be required to resign his school position before taking office as an elected official based on the Millington City Charter.
According to Millington City Charter: Section 3.04. Certain Political Activity Prohibited. No employee of the City , other than any then-serving elected City officials to the extent they may be considered employees of the City, shall continue in the employment of the City except to hold the office to which each official was elected.
Any employee, other than an elected official, who seeks an elected City position shall resign his office effective as of the date of the filing of his nominating petition.
The incumbent for Alderman Position 2 was a longtime employee of Shelby County Schools when he was elected in 2012. When the City of Millington created Millington Municipal Schools by ordinance, he then became an employee of Millington Municipal Schools. His service for the remainder of that term is not in question. However, if employees of Millington Municipal Schools are employees of the City of Millington, then in accordance with the City Charter, they would be required to resign from their position effective on the date of the filing of the nominating petition.
To clarify, the candidate contacted his State Representative and requested an opinion from the State Attorney General’s Office. “Based on that opinion and extensive research it is clear that employees of Millington Municipal Schools are City of Millington employees,” said Charles Perkins, legal counsel for the City of Millington. As a result, not only will Millington Alderman Position 2 be impacted, but also Millington Alderman Position 1, in which the incumbent was defeated by an employee of Millington Municipal Schools. The City of Millington will continue to explore this issue fully and the ramifications on the November election.
