County prosecutor picks up petition to run for criminal ct clerk post

Jason Hunnicutt

Well, well, things might get interesting in the race for the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk’s seat.

Jason Hunnicutt, a prosecutor in the District Attorney General’s Office, picked up a nominating petition today to run for the post. This comes less than a day after incumbent (and embattled) clerk Joy McCroskey told her staffers thatshe would not seek re-election.

At this point Republicans Mike Hammond, a county commissioner, and Steve Williams, a local attorney, are running. Candidates have until noon tomorrow to turn in their petitions.

Hunnicutt, 40, has worked as an assistant district attorney for Knox County since 2002 with a one year intermission (2005-06) when he served as counsel to the Commissioner of Safety. He’s also worked as legislative counsel for the Tennessee General Assembly.

He received a degree in political science from the University of Tennessee and a law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys College of Law in 2000.

Anyhoo, you can find a lot of this stuff right smack here.

District Attorney General Randy Nichols has a policy that if any of his employees run for office against an incumbent then they have to take a leave of absence. Since McCroskey opted out of the race, Hunnicutt will be allowed to continue working in the office.

The county primary is set for May with a general election in August.