Harrison Co. Appoints Joe Meadows to Replace Kim Savant

The Harrison County Board of Supervisors has appointed Joe Meadows to fulfill the remainder of the District 2 term following Kim Savant’s resignation.

Savant resigned just before he pled guilty to a conspiracy to commit bribery charge on December 16th in federal court. Meadows served as the Harrison County Board of Supervisors’ attorney for nearly two decades. For the next year, he’ll serve on the board again, but this time as District 2 Supervisor. The board has appointed Meadows to replace Savant until his term is up in January 2016. Marlin Ladner, Harrison County District 3 Supervisor, says, "He knows the issues as well as the issues in his district and I think he will be a good replacement."

The board says they received many letters expressing interest in the vacant spot, however they felt it was important to appoint someone who would not seek election. Ladner also says, "What you do is you don’t give that person an advantage over perspective candidates in the future, so I think it’s only fair that we appoint someone who is just going to hold down the term until it expires."

The conspiracy charge against Savant has put a dark cloud over the board, putting into question the trust the public puts into elected officials.

Connie Rocko, Harrison County Board President and District 5 Supervisor, says, "Picking someone or choosing someone with honesty and integrity is also vitally important for us to move forward." The board hopes appointing Meadows is the first step to regaining that trust.

Meadows closes, "We’ve got to have transparency. People have to have an opportunity to know what’s going on the government. They need to be encouraged to participate, to attend meetings, and find out what’s going on in the county."