In his 48 years as an attorney, Hal McClanahan said he’s still looking for new experiences.
Monday, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors provided McClanahan, 76, with yet another new role, choosing him to serve out the remaining year of the current term as county prosecutor.
The position pays $45,700 annually.
“This is about the only thing I haven’t done,” McClanahan said after the supervisors voted unanimously to appoint him for the position from a field of six candidates. “I’m what you call a ‘do’ lawyer: Whatever walks through the door, I do.”
McClanahan will serve as county prosecutor as a replacement for Allison Kizer, who ran unopposed for county judge in November. McClanahan will be sworn in in January and serve through the end of 2019.
The other applicants were Will Cooper, Chuck Easley, William Starks, Steve Wallace and Corky Smith.
At Monday’s board meeting, only McClanahan and Smith came up for votes.
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks moved for the job to go to Smith, but the motion failed by a 3-2 vote, with Brooks and District 4 Supervisors Jeff Smith voting in favor and board president Harry Sanders, District 2 Supervisor Bill Brigham and District 3 Supervisor John Holliman voting no.
Sanders then nominated McClanahan, a motion that was seconded by Brooks and approved unanimously.
Smith was the only applicant to attend the meeting and both Holliman and Sanders addressed Smith in explaining their vote.
In short, McClanahan wants the post only for the remainder of the term, while Smith and the other applicants indicated an intent to run for election to the position next year.
“It’s nothing against Corky, but the way I look at it, everybody else was planning on running (in November) except Mr. McClanahan, so this will make it an even playing field for everybody,” Holliman said.
“I agree,” Sanders said. “We just feel like there shouldn’t be an endorsement by the board of supervisors for somebody running for the prosecutor position in the general election.”
Smith, who once served as an assistant to then-County Attorney Tim Hudson in 2010, took the board’s decision in stride.
“I had hoped as the only applicant in the pool with any experience as the county prosecutor, I’d have a leg up,” he said. “I wish Hal all the best and am happy to work with him over the next eleven months. I did tell all the board members if appointed I would run for the position. Even without the appointment, I am still considering running for county prosecutor and other offices.”
McClanahan said he wouldn’t speculate why he was chosen for the job, but did admit his promise not to run to retain the job in November probably factored into the decision.
“I’m kind of in the fourth quarter of the game,” McClanahan said. “I don’t want to get tied down, so I didn’t have any problem being appointed with that condition.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.