By Bill Short The Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen has appointed Gavin Smith to fill the vacancy created in Alderman Position 7 when Michael Caruthers passed away in September. Board members took the action during a Nov. 4 special called meeting on a motion offered by Alderman Don Lowry and seconded by Alderman Bethany Huffman. The motion was passed by five affirmative votes, with Alderman Chris Ford absent. Smith was sworn in by City Judge Mark McDaniel shortly before the board’s Nov. 10 regular monthly meeting. He will serve in the position until the next city election on Nov. 3, 2026. The winner of that position in the election will serve the remainder of Caruthers’ unexpired fifth term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2028. A native of Fayetteville and a Millington resident since 2021, Smith earned: (1) a Bachelor of Science Degree in business administration at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, with a concentration in public administration and a minor in political science, in May 2010; and (2) a Juris Doctor Degree in the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at The University of Memphis in May 2013. He was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in October 2013 and has been a member of the Memphis Bar Association since 2022. As an assistant district attorney general in the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office since 2014, Smith has prosecuted cases in both General Sessions and Criminal Court while serving in the office’s Domestic Violence and Special Victims Units. From June 2024 to the present, he has led and supervised a team of eight prosecutors assigned to Criminal Court Division 8 and General Sessions Division 13, while he has “routinely” handled jury trials and motion hearings involving “all levels” of criminal offenses. During investigations, “when needed,” he is also an adviser to the homicide divisions of “multiple” law enforcement agencies. Smith and his wife Erin have four children. On Feb. 6, he was one of four applicants interviewed during a special Work Session in the Board Chamber at Millington City Hall. At a special called meeting immediately after the interviews, the board appointed John Perales to fill the vacancy created in Alderman Position 4 when Larry Dagen resigned to be sworn in as mayor. Perales subsequently resigned from the Millington Industrial Development Board and was sworn in to the alderman seat on Feb. 10. At their March 10 regular monthly meeting, the aldermen unanimously appointed Smith to replace Perales on the IDB, which elected him its chairman in September. On Oct. 13, the city board voted to declare Position 7 vacant. Under the City Charter, the six remaining aldermen had 30 days to appoint someone to fill the position. City Attorney Gerald Lawson noted that, when the vacancy was advertised Oct. 15-24, individuals choosing to apply for the position were asked to submit a resume’ or letter of interest listing their qualifications. Because Tennessee law and the City Charter contain qualifications required to serve as an alderman, those were included in the advertisement. Although the city initially received eight applications for the appointment, one person subsequently withdrew. Lawson sent copies of the remaining applications to the board members for them to review. At a Nov. 3 special Work Session, the seven applicants were each given five minutes to introduce themselves to the aldermen, who then selected the three they desired to interview in-depth. For 90 minutes immediately before the Nov. 4 meeting, the board had a special Work Session to interview each one individually without the other two present. At the meeting, Lawson distributed copies of a ballot listing the three names and asked each alderman to independently rank them in order of preference. Because Smith received the “total lowest” score, his name was added to the resolution before the appointment vote. While the ballots were being tabulated by Lawson and City Clerk Karen Findley, Dagen thanked everyone who participated in the process of filling the vacancy. The other applicants were Taylor Ellis, Donald Holsinger, Karie Nelson, Charles Reed, Tammy Sneed and Allan Williams.
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Board appoints Smith to fill Alderman Position 7 vacancy
