COVINGTON, Ga. — The county’s interim coroner says he already had experienced one hazard of the job to which he returned in late May.

Tommy Davis showed off a brace on his wrist as he spoke during a meeting of the Newton County Republican Party Tuesday.

“I got called down to the woods to do some coroner work, tripped, fell and cracked my hand,” Davis said.

State law requires a coroner to be notified about deaths that occur as a result of such factors as violence or suicide, sudden death when in apparent good health, and death in any suspicious or unusual manner, especially those 16 years of age and under.

Davis has served in the position since May 26 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Dorothea Bailey-Butts.

A Covington funeral home owner, Davis served three terms as coroner before losing a reelection bid to Bailey-Butts in November 2020.

Bailey-Butts resigned May 26 after almost five months in office. She said a number of factors affected her decision, including a threatened lack of cooperation from other county first-responders and outdated views of her competency because she is Black.

Probate Judge Melanie Bell issued an order the same day as Bailey-Butts’ resignation and appointed Davis to fill the vacancy.

Davis said Bell conferred with Probate Court judges statewide before issuing the order.

“This is not something that she did on her own,” Davis said.

Bailey-Butts’ term was to end on Dec. 31, 2024. Bell’s order cited Georgia law in stating that Davis will “fill the vacancy and serve out the unexpired term of office of Dorothea Bailey-Butts until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified.”

“(Bell’s order) means to me three and a half years in office,” Davis said.

Georgia law concerning a “vacancy” in the office of coroner states, “In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of coroner, the judge of the probate court shall appoint a person to serve out the unexpired term of office and until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified.”

Davis said he did not like the way a resignation led him to be returned to the office. 

“I hate the way it happened,” he said.

He also said he hated “everything about the way that it went down,” including Bailey-Butts feeling the need to resign from the office rather than completing a full term.

But Davis said he was “proud to be serving Newton County again” after being the Newton County coroner from 2009 to 2020.

He said he told County Chairman Marcello Banes and County Manager Lloyd Kerr that he would “pick up back where I was” to continue his previous work as coroner “with compassion and integrity and doing the right thing when sometimes it’s very difficult to do.”

Davis also said he was “ready to face the challenge” if county government officials decide to call a special election to elect someone to serve the remainder of the term.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few months,” Davis said.

County officials said after Bailey-Butts’ resignation that a special election would be called between 120 and 365 days from May 28, 2021 — or between Sept. 25, 2021, and May 28, 2022.

Georgia law states that a special election should be called, “If an election fails to fill the office of coroner.”

It says if a special election is called in an odd-numbered year, such as 2021, dates for the election remaining this year include the third Tuesday in September or the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In 2021, those dates would be Sept. 21 and Nov. 2.

Davis said after the Tuesday meeting he had not decided if he would be a candidate in a special election if one is called.

However, he told the audience Tuesday night that if a special election is called he would “face that challenge” like others “with a smile on our face.”

He also told audience members he hoped no special election would be called because it would be an extra cost to the county.

Gabriel M. White, who lost to Bailey-Butts in 2020 for the Democratic nomination, announced recently he planned to run for coroner in a special election.

Newton County officials had not commented on the status of a call for a special election by midday Friday.

County Board of Elections Chairman Phil Johnson said on Wednesday the county had not sent the board any notices about beginning the process of organizing a special election.

Johnson added that state law specifies dates for conducting special elections. A countywide special election this year would strain the elections office’s resources because it will also be conducting municipal elections around the same time, including a three-week advance voting period, he said.