Keeton chosen to replace Murphy

December 15, 2005

HUNTSVILLE — Ricky A. Keeton, a resident of Helenwood and commissioner from the fourth civil district, is the choice to replace Dwight Murphy as county mayor, as the result of action taken by the commission here Monday night.

Keeton, who will assume duties as the county’s mayor on January 2, 2006, to serve out the unexpired term of Murphy, was one of only two people to submit an application for the position. The other applicant for the post was contractor Harold Brooks of Oneida.

After the two men’s names were placed in nomination by Commissioner Ernest Phillips, Keeton excused himself from the proceedings and left the meeting room. On a roll call vote, the commissioners approved Keeton 12-0, with one commissioner (Jeff Watson) absent due to illness.

Keeton, upon returning to the meeting, thanked his fellow commissioners for the confidence shown in him, and asked for their help in overcoming what he termed a “learning curve” as he steps into the county mayor’s position. He also pledged to “keep an open door” over the next eight months in the position.

Keeton’s appointed term as county mayor will run through August 31, 2006. Whoever wins the position in the August General Election will assume duties for a four-year term on September 1.

County Mayor Murphy had earlier turned the meeting over to Chairman Pro Tem Mike Slaven and left the meeting room to a standing ovation for his years of service to Scott County.

In last month’s commission meeting, Murphy tendered his resignation as county mayor effective January 1. That announcement came shortly after he was chosen by the Tennessee Board of Regents as the new director of the Tennessee Technology Center at Oneida/Huntsville, replacing Arvis Blakley, who has retired.

Before Murphy left the meeting room — and his final formal meeting as chairman of the commission — shortly after 8 p.m. Monday night, he thanked the commissioners for being given the opportunity to serve and said he would provide them with a more formal and detailed letter of resignation by the time they meet again in January.

Keeton is a 32-year employee of the First National Bank of Oneida, where he serves as Risk Management Officer and is in charge of security and the bank’s property and casualty insurance agency. In addition, Keeton has been the “Voice of the Highlanders” on WBNT-FM and cable TV Channel 4 for the last several years of broadcasting Scott High football and basketball games.

He began his career in banking as a teller and progressed through the positions of collector, loan officer, branch manager and security officer.

“I’ve served in every facet of banking except bookkeeping,” Keeton stated.

He was elected to county commission from the fourth district in 1998 and, four years later, reelected to another four-year term. His current committee assignments include Budget, Intergovernmental, Community Development, Airport Authority, Insurance & Benefits, Judicial, TEAM 21, Recreation Advisory, Homeland Security and others.

He is the father of two daughters, Sarah, the eldest, who is married to Chad Cecil, and Rikki, a student at Scott High School.

Keeton said while he had thought about putting his name into the hat for the county mayor’s post for the past three weeks, it wasn’t until “around eight o’clock Sunday night that I made up my mind.”

He says it was his fellow commissioners who convinced him to submit an application for the position.

“They played upon my sense of duty and responsibility,” Keeton said, especially “when it didn’t look like anyone from the general public appeared interested in the position.”

Keeton said that for some time, he felt Mike Slaven would be the likely choice for the job, having served as Chairman Pro Tem of the commission for so many years.

When asked if he would seek a full term as county mayor in the upcoming election, Keeton responded: “I’ve never considered running for a countywide office. I’ve got two or three months before I have to make that decision.”

newsroom@ihoneida.com

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