Sumner County Commission votes to seat a Republican who was tied with her Democratic opponent

Sumner County’s newly elected commission seated a Republican candidate who was tied with her Democratic opponent during a contentious meeting Thursday night.  

The District 13 race last month ended in a tie between Republican Terri Boyt and Democrat Brenda Dotson.   

Commissioners could have chosen to let the voters decide in a runoff election in November. Commissioner Dan Sullivan spoke in support of a motion to do just that. 

More: A Democrat and Republican tied for a Sumner County Commission seat. Commissioners get to decide whether to seat the Republican, anyway.

“Now let me be clear I want nothing more than for Terri Boyt, the Republican candidate in District 13, to be elected because I am a Republican,” Sullivan said. “But I believe this is a decision that should be voted on by the people of District 13.”

But the motion failed. 

Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield immediately made a motion to instead elect Republican Terri Boyt. It passed on a 20-1 vote, keeping the commission solidly Republican.  

No Democrats have been elected to the Sumner County Commission since the 1990s. Dotson, a Black woman, called the process unfair.