Jackson County Legislature names Phil Lavoda in 8-1 vote to move forward on interim county executive resolution

The Jackson County Legislature on Oct. 13 completed interviews of candidates for the interim county executive post and voted to add Phil Lavoda's name to the appointment resolution, adopting that resolution by an 8-1 roll-call vote.

Legislators conducted a series of three-minute opening statements and follow-up questions for a slate of applicants during a special session that the chair said replaced scheduled hearings. After the interviews, the legislature nominated three finalistsChristine Taylor Butler, Phil Lavoda and Dan Tarwaterand held a first round of balloting. The clerk read the ballots aloud: Lavoda received five first-round votes and Tarwater received four. The body then voted to add Lavoda's name to Resolution 2201771 and adopted that resolution 8-1 in a roll call that showed eight "yes" votes and one "no" vote.

The adoption followed the legislature's stated procedure: nominations, secret ballots, elimination of the lowest vote-getters and then a resolution to finalize the appointment. During…