Rob Roberson will serve as Oktibbeha County’s new board attorney after receiving unanimous support from county supervisors.
Roberson, who serves as District 43’s Republican representative in the Mississippi House of Representatives and has a private practice law firm in Starkville, was one of nine candidates to interview for the board attorney position on Monday.
The board’s decision to hire Roberson came in open session after a brief executive session.
District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller said each supervisor went over their top three candidates during the executive session after the interviews. She said Roberson appeared to impress most of the board, allowing for a quick decision.
“Rob stood out to the majority of the board with the strengths that he had, and with the things we felt he could do on a local level, on a state level and even on a national level,” Miller said.
The board interviewed for a new attorney after the February passing of former long-serving board attorney Jack Brown. Brown had served the board for nearly 20 years.
Board President Orlando Trainer said Roberson will serve the remainder of Brown’s annual appointment. He said his salary is the same as Brown’s, at $44,700.
Roberson, speaking to The Dispatch, said he was thrilled to learn about his selection.
“I’m absolutely tickled,” Roberson said. “I really am. I’m trying right now to get some information to be ready for tonight’s (Monday’s) meeting.”
Roberson has served for eight years in the Mississippi Legislature and said he has an additional three years serving as an alderman for the city of Starkville. He’s worked as an attorney for 14 years.
Eight other attorneys — Haley Brown, Marty Haug, Jay Hurdle, Bennie Jones Jr., Ben Lang, Chad Montgomery, Johnny Moore and Lydia Quarles — interviewed for the position on Monday. Roberson said he felt any of them could have done well for the county and he was thankful supervisors selected him.
“The other eight that applied would have done a very good job,” he said. “We’re really blessed that we have a good group of attorneys from our community, and I’m really honored that they’ve allowed me to serve. It was not a done deal, by any means, in my mind.”
During his interview, Roberson presented a Mississippi Ethics Commission opinion on legislators also serving as county board attorneys, in response to Miller raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
Miller, speaking to The Dispatch after Monday’s meeting, said she felt candidates, including Roberson, with potential conflict of interest concerns properly addressed those concerns.
“The truth is, we need to ask these questions,” Roberson said. “Whenever anyone comes in, we need to be sure they can do the job you’re asking them to do. As you can see there, it clearly states that you can also serve as a county attorney. … That’s an important factor, especially when you’re looking at my situation because I am a little different, so that you know that this is not the first time this has occurred.
“There’s probably at least five on the House side that are currently serving as a legislator and an attorney for a county,” he added.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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