DECATUR - Democrats control the new Macon County Board seated Monday night by the smallest of margins - 11 seats to 10. Yet the ensuing vote to promote Vice Chairman Jay Dunn to board chairman was anything but close.

The Decatur Democrat was elected 20-0, with only the lone "present" vote by Linda Little, R-Decatur, keeping the vote from being unanimous.

"I really appreciate the vote of confidence," Dunn said. "I've been on this board four or five years, I'm still trying to figure out Linda Little and how she votes, but I'm going to figure it out one of these days."

Dunn, who replaces retiring board chairman Bob Sampson, D-Decatur, then presided over the unanimous election of Kevin Meachum, D-Decatur, as vice chairman of the board.

The only indication that the board's Republicans might have had something else in mind was when Keith Ashby, R-Decatur, asked if the vote for chairman could be done by secret ballot and State's Attorney Jack Ahola said that would not be legal.

Dunn, who is business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 146, said he would announce his committee appointments at the Dec. 11 board meeting and revealed only that he planned to retain his post as chairman of the finance committee. "I'll try to make people as happy as I can," he said, "but I'll put people in the right places."

Dunn passed out a survey to board members asking on which committees and subcommittees they would be willing to serve and if they would be willing to serve as chairman or vice chairman and asked to have them back by Monday.

Meachum, who has served on the county board for 10 years, said he is interested in broadening his experience by serving on committees and subcommittees he has not served on before. That means the Justice, Negotiations and the Environmental, Education, Health & Welfare committees and the Rules Review, Ordinance Review and Macon County Building subcommittees.

It also rules out a return to the Transportation Committee, which he chaired until Sampson replaced him and relieved him of all committee duties Aug. 1 after a dispute over the highway department's budget.

Board members elected Nov. 4 were also sworn in Monday, including Kevin Greenfield, R-Decatur, who defeated newly appointed Michael Spent of Oreana for the two years that remained on David Wolfe's District 7 term when the Oakley Democrat died in July.

tchurchill@herald-review.com|421-7978