The election earlier this month ended with a few surprises that left many political experts shaking their heads. But few local elections can compare with what’s happened in Tennessee. This election event beats anything I remember happening anywhere.

We’ll call the candidate Mattie. That’s not his real name but we’ll use Mattie and not name the town to avoid unnecessary embarrassment.

Mattie ran for the town commission. He would be one of the officials who’d govern the town he represented. Nothing unusual about that.

There was nothing unusual about Mattie’s campaign. He used flyer handouts and yards signs just like all the other candidates.

By the time the election was over, Mattie had 93 votes. That’s not a lot, but it’s enough to elect Mattie over his opponent, who got only 92 votes. That’s right — Mattie won by a single vote. Incredible, isn’t it?

But it’s not nearly as incredible as what I’m about to tell you. Commissioner-Elect Mattie is on a sheriff’s 10 most-wanted list in a nearby county. That’s not a misprint. On October 29 and again on November 5 — two days before the election — Mattie’s name appeared on a sheriff’s most wanted list for two outstanding misdemeanor warrants.

Mattie is charged with failing to appear in court to answer charges of driving with a revoked license earlier this year and for writing a bad check two years ago.

The Associated Press, which broke the story, says that Mattie does not answer his telephone or even have an answer machine pickup. Does that surprise you?

Mattie is scheduled to be sworn in next month and town officials say the criminal charges facing Mattie will not prevent him from taking office.

Members of the town commission say they plan to discuss the matter of Mattie’s arrest warrants with the town attorney. In the meantime, neither Mattie, nor the sheriff who brought the charges, are commenting on the case.

If such a thing happened in Sheriff Andy Griffith’s town of Mount Airy, Gomer Pyle would have said, "Goo-oolly."