With barely enough Justices of the Peace present to make a quorum, county officials on Thursday approved the appointment of a new treasurer to fill out the remainder of retired treasurer Debbie Ray's term, which ends Dec. 31.
Eight present JPs -- the only ones who were able to attend the emergency meeting, which was called Wednesday morning for Thursday afternoon -- voted unanimously in favor of the appointment of Chief Deputy Treasurer Lexie Kelley.
"(She's) the obvious choice to fill that position until the end of the year," said Union County Judge Mike Loftin.
Ray retired last Thursday, May 19, after 12 years as Union County Treasurer. Kelley has worked in the Treasurer's Office for just shy of seven years, and Ray noted after her retirement that Kelley had been trained extensively for the role.
"I told her if she needed anything to just call me," Ray said last week. "There's a lot to it, working with numbers all day, but I loved that -- loved working with numbers -- and Lexie likes working with numbers too."
Kelley lost a bid to take on the role more permanently in Tuesday's election, when she faced Jody Cunningham, administrative assistant to the county judge, in the Republican primary.
Cunningham said appointees aren't permitted to run for election immediately following their appointment, so she would have been barred from running for the office she'll take next January had she been appointed to fill out the remainder of Ray's term.
Following the Quorum Court's approval of a resolution appointing Kelley, Judge Hamilton Singleton swore her in.
Kelley will serve as the Union County Treasurer through Dec. 31. The salary for the position is $2,461.54 per pay period.
A newly sworn-in Union County Treasurer Lexie Kelley shakes Judge Hamilton Singleton's hand as he congratulates her on Thursday, May 26. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)