Hustonville mayor withdraws from election

HUSTONVILLE — Hustonville Mayor Marc Spivey has withdrawn from the coming election and will not seek a new term.

Former Hustonville Mayor Larry "Pup" Doss filed as a write-in candidate for the seat on Monday, but said he was unaware that Spivey had withdrawn until he filed his write-in papers.

County Clerk George Spoonamore told The Interior Journal on Monday that Spivey had withdrawn. The form showing Spivey's official withdrawal was submitted to Spoonamore's office Oct. 10.

"His name will still appear on the ballot," Spoonamore said. "But when those votes come in, they will not be counted."

Spivey, who was running unopposed, has given no specific reason for withdrawing and said Tuesday morning he has no comment.

When asked if he would finish out his current term as mayor, Spivey said, "I guess you'll find out."

Spivey's withdrawal means Doss, who served as Hustonville mayor prior to Spivey's predecessor, Cecil Maddox, was running unopposed as the only write-in candidate as of Tuesday afternoon.

Maddox resigned unexpectedly at the end of Hustonville's regularly scheduled meeting in March. Spivey, who was on the city council at the time, was voted into the mayor's seat by his fellow council members.

Spoonamore said Tuesday afternoon one other person has called his office expressing interest in becoming a write-in candidate for the Hustonville mayor seat, but the person did not give out a name.

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is noon Oct. 27.

Spivey’s departure will mark the third major personnel shake-up in Hustonville in less than a year. In addition to Maddox's resignation and Spivey's withdrawal, Carol Hill stepped down as Hustonville city attorney on Oct. 2.

Hill said she had planned to resign her post earlier in the year to spend more time with her family, but agreed to stay on while Spivey learned the ropes.

Hill said on Oct. 2 that because Spivey was running unopposed, the mayor felt comfortable hiring a new city attorney before the end of his current term.

The Interior Journal could not get a comment from Spivey on who the next city attorney would be or how the transition to the next mayor would work. Spivey told a reporter Tuesday morning he was uninterested in answering any questions on any topic.

Doss said if elected as Hustonville's next mayor, his first focus would be assessing what has been going on inside the city's government.

"I don't know what the story is right now," he said. "I don't know the circumstances. There's more behind something than just up and quitting."

"I feel about like a little boy reaching in a bag and there's a pig in there," Doss said. "You don't know what you got until you pull it out of there."