A long-serving member of the Lincoln County Election Commissionhas given up his post due to health problems, and an eager familymember will step in to fulfill his role.

After falling into poor health earlier this spring, DistrictFive Election Commissioner Lee Warren announced his resignationafter 28 years of service in a letter to supervisors Monday. On therecommendation of District Five Supervisor Gary Walker, the boardappointed Warren’s daughter-in-law – Marsha Warren – to serve onthe commission until a special election is held in November.

“Out of courtesy to him, I will appoint her,” Walker said.

Marsha Warren, who is married to Lee Warren’s son Mike, joinsthe commission enthusiastically, and she said she would pursue theoffice in the election. State rules call for the commission seat tobe put to a vote in a special election, which this year will fallon Nov. 3.

“I’ve always said if (Lee Warren) ever decided he didn’t want torun, I’d like to follow in his footsteps,” she said. “But I wasn’tgoing to even mention it until he wanted to retire.”

Election qualifying is under way and will continue until Aug.31. Potential District Five candidates must pick up a petition atthe Lincoln County Circuit Clerk’s Office and gather 50 voters’signatures in their district.

Warren said she can quickly begin helping other commissionersclean up county voter rolls with the Statewide Elections ManagementSystem because of her familiarity with computers and background indata processing.

“I feel confident I’ll be able to pick up where he left off andmake sure the elections in District Five are run fairly andefficiently,” she said.

Lee Warren could not be reached for comment. His daughter-in-lawsaid his health has improved since becoming critical weeks ago.

With the board’s appointment to the election commission, onlytwo of the five commissioners serving at the beginning of last yearremain.

District One Election Commissioner John Hightower passed awaylast May and was replaced – first by appointment and then byelection – by James Tillman, the deputy superintendent of theBrookhaven School District and longtime educationadministrator.

The November election that saw Tillman’s appointment validatedby voters also saw longtime District Four Election CommissionerCharles Smith defeated in a one-vote decision by newcomer JanieSisco.

District Three Election Commissioner Bennon Case and DistrictTwo Election Commissioner Mike Byrne won their contests last yearand are the only two remaining incumbents on the commission. Byrneis now the commission’s most senior member.

Though the addition of three new members means less experienceon the election commission, Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Terry LynnWatkins said the new public servants bring new energy to thetable.

“Marsha seems to be excited about this and she’s just ready toget in there and learn what she’s supposed to do,” she said. “Ithink it’s going to be a good thing.”