After an extended battle with health issues, Columbia County Judge Larry Atkinson is again set to early-retire from the office he has held since Jan. 1, 2007. The longtime county official’s final day in office will be Saturday, Feb. 29. Atkinson has been a county employee for over 35 years.
The announcement of the Atkinson’s intentions came Tuesday night at the conclusion of a specially-called Columbia County Quorum Court Finance Committee meeting to discuss another county matter. Atkinson was not present at the gathering, but his position is set to be filled at the Court’s regularly-scheduled March 2 meeting on Monday night, but did attend the Court’s regular meeting last month.
Beverly Thomas, who serves as Atkinson’s executive assistant and also previously applied for the interim judge position, stated Tuesday that in the 48 hours or so the county is officially without a judge, she has the authority to sign any necessary documents that Atkinson would normally be assigned with. The county judge serves as the county government’s chief operating officer, similar in nature to a mayor. He does not have any judicial power or vote on local government affairs.
The process to select an interim County Judge is now underway, with the county on Wednesday contacting former applicants for the position. Previously, eight local residents submitted their names for consideration of interim county judge. They included Beverly Thomas, James Young, David Clark, Denny Foster, Sheila Nash, John Dyson, Burl Campbell, or Tommy Peace.
Atkinson had already announced his desire to retire early in December 2019 due to his physician’s recommendation and was set to leave office on Jan. 31. But on Jan. 6 he stated that, after much thought and weighing many legal and personal considerations, he elected to avoid retirement and stay in office as long as he could. Atkinson has never gone into detail publicly on the scope and specifics of his illness.
The Quorum Court will now be tasked with finding an interim replacement for the judge to serve out the remaining 34 months of his term that does not expire until Dec. 31, 2022. Whoever takes over the job will not be eligible to run for office in the next county judge election but will fulfill all duties presently associated with the position. The Quorum Court’s March agenda that was released Wednesday afternoon calls for a new business agenda item considering a resolution declaring a vacancy in the office of County Judge.
The process of appointing a new judge will be handled just as matters dealing with abrupt county vacancies have been dealt with in the past. Applicants will apply for the job and be interviewed privately during an executive session by the Quorum Court, then are publicly voted upon by the Justices of the Peace to be the interim. The election requires a simple majority -- or 6 of the 11 JPs if all are present -- to be named the new county judge. If one candidate does not garner the necessary votes, the Quorum Court will be tasked with finding someone who can get the necessary votes to fill Atkinson’s role.