Council will appoint new public defender

With the tragic death of Metro Public Defender Ross Alderman, the Metro Council will appoint his replacement. Chris Echegary explains the process (fact-checking myself since I had originally attributed the piece to Michael Cass):

Under council rules, Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors will announce the vacancy at the council's next meeting, a week from today.

Council members and the public then will have one week to submit nominations.

The council's appointment must be held at least four weeks after the announcement of the vacancy, meaning it won't happen before Sept. 16.

One fact check on the piece, though. Echegary says that Alderman had faced no opposition in 2002 and 2006. Alderman beat Kelvin Jones in the May 6, 2006 vote.

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Candidate	ABS	EV	FSV	ED	TOT
R ALDERMAN	250	2037	0	15450	17737
K JONES	196	1355	0	10464	12015
TOTALS	446	3392	0	25914	29752