BRADY FLANIGANStaff Writer

Since February of 2015, Dr. Donald Daniel has served as a member of the Tullahoma Airport Authority (TAA)—the city’s governing body dedicated to overseeing operations at Tullahoma Regional Airport and ensuring planes land on the runway as opposed to your living room. After two back-to-back five-year terms, Dr. Daniel became ineligible for reappointment.

On Monday, March 10, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen was set to fill his vacant seat. But what should have been a routine appointment turned into a rare deadlock when the two applicants split the vote 3-3—twice. With no tiebreaker and nowhere to land, the board was stuck circling the runway.

Normally, a tie like this wouldn’t happen—there are seven seats—but with Alderman Jerry Mathis absent, the board found itself in procedural limbo.

Both candidates were aviators. First, Ralph Bard, retired lawyer, Navy engineer, doctor, IFR-rated commercial pilot, and Civil Air Patrol member—an overachiever by any metric. He spoke first, clear where he stood: 

“I think the Tullahoma Airport is one of the most significant positive assets that we have here in Tullahoma,” Bard said.

When the airport’s former fixed-base operator stopped renting planes, Bard took it upon himself to keep rentals going. He bought an airplane, then another, all in the name of keeping aviation accessible and making a few bucks in the meantime. Eventually, he stepped back, selling them to Wright Base Flight Training. “I like to think I had a hand in getting a flight school here in Tullahoma, which I think is a huge asset,” he told the board.

Bard’s former student, Tom Gillard, kept it brief:  “I have nothing really to add other than I am interested. I am a pilot, and I am trying to look forward to the opportunities the airport might provide this community.”

Then the vote. City Recorder Lori Ashley handed out slips of paper, collected them, and read them aloud: 

• Alderman Kurt Glick – Bard
• Mayor Lynn Sebourn – Gillard
• Alderman Busch Thoma – Gillard
• Alderman Sernobia McGee – Bard
• Alderman Matthew Bird – Gillard
• Alderman Bobbie Wilson – Bard

Deadlock.

Surprise and a chuckle shuffled through the room. “We’ll have to fight it out,” Glick muttered dryly.

Sebourn shifted in his chair. “I should’ve thought of this before I started this vote tonight.”

Wilson leaned toward the mic. “Alright, we’re into sudden death! Now we pull out the dodgeball.”

Sebourn shuffled around his papers. “Alright. How do y’all want to go about this? Just keep voting again and see if anyone changes their mind?”

Thoma interjected, “The nice thing about it is we have two excellent candidates.”

The others nodded. “It’s a hard thing to be sitting here and pass judgment.” A moment of silence. 

Then Glick spoke up. “I have a question for the city administrator or city attorney. Do we have a process for this—for breaking a tie?”

“You just keep voting until somebody changes their mind,” City Attorney Steve Worsham said, with the kind of professionalism only a seasoned attorney can have in the face of such weirdness.

“We don’t have a coin-flip process?” Sebourn interjected. Chuckles and murmurs from the audience. “I’m only half joking. There are places that have a coin flip process.”

City Administrator Jason Quick suggested a different approach—ask the candidates more questions.

Thoma took the lead. “I think the question I would have is what do they feel is the most pressing issue at the airport, and what would you do to solve it?”

Gillard went first. “I don’t know how to solve it, but it seems like the most pressing [issue] is the city or other entities encapsulating the airport facilities. It puts them and pilots at risk in the long run if something were to happen.”

Bard took a different angle. “What has got my immediate attention is the flight school moving into Shelbyville from Murfreesboro. As you know, Murfreesboro has told MTSU flight school that they have to leave. They’re going to be going to Shelbyville. As far as operations, the way they normally operate is they’ll be able to take off and land in Shelbyville, but they’ll come here—primarily to do their touch-and-gos and practice. That’s not something that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it is something that’s probably going to have to be looked at by the board and evaluated.”

Glick followed up with a second question, asking how the candidates felt about the ongoing discussions regarding solar panels on the property.

Bard was skeptical. “One of the very nice things about Tullahoma that adds to the safety is if someone was to take off from Tullahoma and have an engine failure, there’s a nice big piece of flat ground where you can safely put an airplane down. If part of that is taken up with solar panels I’m not sure if that would be in the interest of the Tullahoma airport.”

Gillard approached and nodded. “That’s a part of the encroachment [issue]. You don’t want things inside the airport fence, especially that somebody’s liable to run into.”

With that, it was time for another round of voting.

• Alderman Thoma – Bard
• Alderman McGee – Gillard
• Mayor Sebourn – Gillard
• Alderman Glick – Bard
• Alderman Wilson – Bard
• Alderman Bird – Gillard

Another deadlock. Thoma and McGee had swapped votes. 

This time, the board cracked. Laughter rolled through the city hall, and everyone slumped back in their chairs. 

“Our other option here is we could wait one meeting and…” Sebourn trailed off.

Thoma cut in. “And do a duel!”

Wilson threw her elbow onto the table. “Let’s arm wrestle!”

“Yes!” Sebourn jumped in, half-serious—at least, hopefully.

Worsham, laughing and shaking his head, brought them back to reality. “You can vote to table this matter, and hopefully at the next meeting you will have seven or five present.”

Thoma made the motion, and just like that, a mad hatter game of stalemate chess was over. Sebourn wiped the grin off his face and turned back to the candidates.

“Gentlemen, I apologize—we’re at a deadlock here.”

And so the decision was punted down the road, left for another meeting, another day, and hopefully another vote with an odd number. Until then, the TAA will have to wait.

No one won. No one lost. And for now, the TTA seat sits empty.