2023 TBA Election Information

THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR 2023 HAS CLOSED


Deadline to Run for TBA Office is Feb. 15

During 2023, the following officers, governors and delegates of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) will be elected as set forth in the association’s bylaws:

TBA Officers and Board of Governors

A vice president (from the East Tennessee Grand Division) will be elected by the association’s membership-at-large. The vice president automatically assumes the office of president-elect in 2024 and president in 2025.

District Governors

District Governors in the 2nd, 5th (Position 1), and 7th districts will be elected to three-year terms. These governors are elected by the members in their respective district.

Those who currently hold those positions are: Heidi Barcus (2nd), Amy Bryant (5th District – Position 1), and Matt Willis (7th). Heidi Barcus, Amy Bryant, and Matt Willis are eligible for reelection.

Grand Division Governors

TBA Grand Division governors are elected for one-year terms by the membership in each grand division.

  • Two East Tennessee governors from the 1st, 2nd or 3rd district.
  • Two Middle Tennessee governors from the 4th, 5th or 6th district.
  • Two West Tennessee governors from the 7th or 8th district.


Those who currently hold those positions are:

East Tennessee:   

Andy Roskind
Deborah Yeomans-Barton

Middle Tennessee:

Billy Leslie        
Mary Dohner Smith

West Tennessee:

Judge Creed McGinley        
Will Perry

Deborah Yeomans-Barton, Billy Leslie, Mary Dohner Smith, and Will Perry are eligible for reelection. Andy Roskind and Judge Creed McGinley are ineligible for reelection because of term limits.

TBA Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates

Two members to represent the TBA in the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates will be elected for two-year terms by the TBA membership in 2023. The positions are designated positions 1 and 3.

Candidates for position 3 must be members of the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association and be within their first ten years of practice (change from five years to ten years effective as of Jan. 1, 2022) or under age 36 at the time they would assume office.

Those who currently hold these positions are Jonathan Cole (Position 1) and Judge Alex McVeagh (Position 3).

Qualifying, Balloting & Elections

The officers, governors and delegates to the ABA are elected by the membership as provided by election procedures with petitions due February 15, 2023.

To qualify for any of these offices, a candidate must file a nominating petition with the executive director of the TBA. The petition must contain the names of 25 members of the association in good standing. The petition must be received at the TBA office on or before February 15, 2023 via electronic mail at barED@tnbar.org. Because of limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, scanned signatures can be collected and submitted electronically.

Election Petition: Download a pdf version of the TBA election petition (updated October 2021)

The Board of Governors has authorized an electronic balloting system supervised by auditors selected by the Board. The Tennessee Bar Association elections will be primarily carried out electronically — using online balloting. Most members are familiar with this electronic method, but those who still prefer to cast paper ballots will be able to choose that method. Members will be able to opt out of electronic voting either through the TBA.org website or by providing written notice to TBA Interim Executive Director Barry Kolar at 3310 West End Avenue, Suite 590, Nashville, TN 37203. This notice must be provided by February 1, 2023.

As in the past, TBA members voting electronically will receive an email with a link to the election site along with a password to use to cast their ballots. Tabulation of election results will continue to be carried out by an accounting firm selected by the board.

Candidates have until February 15, 2023 to qualify to run in the 2023 elections. Voting will take place between March 1 and April 3, 2023.

Electronic voting will close at 11:59 p.m. on April 3, 2023. If a mail ballot is requested, those ballots must be received by the deadline at the office of the TBA auditors on April 3, 2022. If there is only one duly-qualified candidate for an office by February 15, 2023, that candidate will automatically be declared elected.

TBA House of Delegates

Members of the TBA House of Delegates are elected in odd-numbered years. One member of the TBA House of Delegates from each Judicial District and one additional delegate from the 6th (Knox County), 11th (Hamilton County), 20th (Davidson County) and 30th (Shelby County) are to be elected in 2023. The following is a list of the current members of the House from each district whose terms expire this year:

1st District – Rick Bearfield
2nd District – Meredith Humbert
3rd District – Doug Collins
4th District – Evan Newman
5th District – VACANT
6th District – Debra House* and Jerry Martin
7th District – VACANT
8th District – Philip Kazee
9th District – VACANT
10th District – Bridget Willhite
11th District – Tim Mickel and Pat Vital
12th District – Judge Marshall “Mark” Raines
13th District – Hank Fincher
14th District – Ed North
15th District – Lisa Cothron
16th District – Ted Goodman
17th District – Debbie Zimmerle
18th District – Russ Edwards
19th District – John Holt
20th District – Judge Lynda Jones and David Goudie
21st District – Rebecca Blair
22nd District – Thomas Hutto
23rd District – Jennifer Noe
24th District – VACANT
25th District – Judge Weber McCraw
26th District – Chad Wood
27th District – Steve Conley
28th District – VACANT
29th District – Matt Willis
30th District – Charlotte Knight Griffin* and Asia Diggs Meador
31st District – Robert Bratcher
YLD East – Justin Faith
YLD Middle – Mike Tackeff
YLD West – Will Gibbons

*Pursuant to Section 31 of the Bylaws, the Officer’s shall serve two-year terms, even if their term expires as a Delegate in the interim.

TBA House of Delegates Qualifying, Balloting & Elections

To qualify as a candidate for the TBA House of Delegates a TBA member must file a declaration of candidacy that includes their name, principal place of law practice, district of interest, and contact information. This can be submitted with the executive director of the TBA via email at at barED@tnbar.org on or before February 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.

Questions?

This notice is in accordance with bylaws of the TBA §15 and 40 through 46. For more information on running for any of these offices, visit the TBA’s website at https://www.tba.org/index.cfm?pg=election-guidelines.

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