Press Release: Rep. Brian Kelsey Resigns House Seat for Senate Run

The Main Street Journal Website

(The following press release is published as it was received by the Main Street Journal.)

KELSEY RESIGNS STATE HOUSE SEAT

For Immediate Release / September 24,
2009 mail@votekelsey.com (901) 213-8683

Germantown, TN - State Representative Brian Kelsey (R-
Germantown) today announced his resignation from the
Tennessee House of Representatives to ensure that the voters
of House District 83 are allowed to choose their next state
Representative.

“I want the people to choose their next representative, not
the politicians,” said Rep. Kelsey.

By resigning his House seat prior to Nov. 2, Rep. Kelsey
will guarantee that a special election takes place to fill
the seat. If Rep. Kelsey were to resign his seat after Nov.
2, the county commission would pick his successor.

“Resigning today allows us to save taxpayers $60,000 - $75,
000 and have a new representative in place on day one when
the legislature reconvenes in January,” said Rep. Kelsey in
a letter delivered this morning to the Speaker of the House.

Rep. Kelsey is currently the Republican candidate in the
Dec. 1 state Senate special election to fill the vacant seat
in District 31. Today’s resignation date allows Governor
Bredesen to set the primary election for Kelsey’s vacated
state House seat on the same day as the general election for
the state Senate seat. According to the Shelby County
Election Commission, holding both the special elections on
Dec. 1 will save taxpayers $60,000 to $75,000. Today’s
resignation date also allows Governor Bredesen to set the
general election for the state House seat on January 12,
2010, the day that the legislature reconvenes next year.

Shelby County Republican Chairman Lang Wiseman explained the
necessity for a special election: “It should come as no
surprise to anyone who knows him that Brian Kelsey would put
his personal interests aside to help ensure the people of
his district will continue to be represented by a
conservative leader they know. Unfortunately, the Democrats
on the county commission have proven that they cannot be
trusted to follow the wishes of voters but have instead
engaged in partisan politics,” said Wiseman.

In January 2009, the Democratic-controlled Shelby County
Commission appointed Democrat Matt Kuhn to fill a heavily-
Republican seat after Republican David Lillard resigned his
commission seat to become state Treasurer. Under Republican
control of the county commission in prior years, the
commission had followed a long-standing tradition of
appointing Republicans to Republican districts and Democrats
to Democratic districts. House District 83 is among the top
five most Republican districts of the 99 in Tennessee.

“It is rather elitist and undemocratic to think that a bunch
of politicians could do a better job of picking a
representative than can the people of the district,”
concluded Rep. Kelsey.

Rep. Kelsey’s resignation is effective as of 11:59 p.m.
tonight. A copy of the letter was delivered this morning to
the governor and to the Secretary of State.

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