Three candidates applied to be the city of Columbus’ appointment to a regional economic development board, but councilmen couldn’t agree on a selection.
Councilmen did agree to re-open the process for more applications.
The Golden Triangle Development LINK Board of Directors, which is around 20 members and comprises four members from Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties among several business leaders, ratifies action taken by the Golden Triangle Development LINK Executive Committee and has veto power.
The three applicants considered during Tuesday’s council meeting were Jim Mauldin, Tiffany Sturdivant and Mildred Monroe. Councilman Charlie Box nominated Mauldin, owner of multiple Unishoppers Logistics franchises. Councilman Bill Gavin seconded Box’s motion, but a vote to appoint Mauldin failed 3-2 with Joseph Mickens, Marty Turner and Kabir Karriem in dissent. Councilman Gene Taylor was absent for the meeting.
Turner then nominated Sturdivant, a nurse with Mississippi Homecare. He received a second from Mickens but no other supporting votes. Sturdivant previously acknowledged to The Dispatch to be a campaign manager for Turner last year, and The Dispatch reported last May that she donated $629 to Turner’s campaign.
This is the second time Turner has attempted to appoint Sturdivant to a board. He made a motion in a previous meeting to appoint her to the Columbus Light & Water Board of Directors. That motion also failed.
Monroe, a retired city employee, was not nominated.
Karriem said the council would have been more likely to find consensus on a candidate if people who applied to serve on boards communicated with councilmen.
“If folks want to apply for these boards, I suggest they get in contact with the council members and let the council members know who they are and the board they’re applying for,” Karriem said. “We just can’t come up here and vote for folks just because your name is up here. I haven’t contacted by any of these candidates, so I wouldn’t have voted for any of them.”
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors recently appointed Rob Graham, Moak Griffin and Earl Weeks. They were the only three applicants for the county-appointed seats.
For more on Tuesday’s council meeting, see Thursday’s edition of The Dispatch.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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