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Red Bank special election planned to fill Moore’s seat

By: Monica Mercer
(Contact)

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Amy Cook

In the wake of the death of longtime Red Bank commissioner and current Vice Mayor Ronnie Moore, commissioners “with reluctance” declared Mr. Moore’s seat vacant Tuesday night and said there will be a special election to fill it.

The special election will be Nov. 4 to coincide with the general election, city attorney Arnold Stulce said during the regular meeting, at which city commissioners largely abandoned official business in deference to Mr. Moore’s memory.

“We’re all reminded of what the Bible tells us, that nobody’s promised tomorrow,” Mr. Stulce said of Mr. Moore’s death while on vacation. “During the entire time that (Mr. Moore) served this city, he did it with diligence and with integrity and with a backbone.”

State law requires the commission to fill a vacancy within 80 days of declaring a seat empty.

Mr. Moore, who was 66, died Thursday while waiting for a flight in an airport in Poland during a six-week European tour with his wife Diane. He had retired July 3 after a 38-year career as a reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press covering everything from federal courts to regional news.

Amy Cook, pastor of White Oak Methodist Church where Mr. Moore was a member, told commissioners Tuesday that the family has planned a memorial service in England where he and his wife met.

Ms. Cook said a memorial service also will be held in Chattanooga, but the time and location will depend on when his family is able to bring his body home.

Polish authorities, she said, still are deciding if an autopsy will be performed.

Red Bank Commissioner Monty Millard said Mr. Moore, who first became a commissioner in 1987, “was not a politician, but a public servant” who cared deeply for the Red Bank community.

“He projected a positive and professional image for our city,” Mr. Millard said.

Others from around the region who had worked with the veteran journalist remembered him Tuesday night, as well.

At the Catoosa County (Ga.) Commission’s first meeting since Mr. Moore’s death, Commissioner Jim Emberson asked his colleagues and the audience to keep Mr. Moore’s family in their thoughts.

“I didn’t always agree with the things he wrote about me, but he told the truth as he saw it, and I respected him for that,” Mr. Emberson said of Mr. Moore’s coverage of county government.

On Monday, that county’s Public Works Authority board observed a moment of silence in Mr. Moore’s honor.

Mr. Stulce said Tuesday night the city is fortunate to be able to hold the special election on Nov. 4, which is expected to save thousands by not having to hold a separate election.

Mr. Moore was not due for re-election to the Red Bank City Commission until 2010.

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