Fairview Mayor John Blade resigned from his position on Tuesday, days after he was arrested for shoplifting. The 53 year old, who is accused of stealing hundreds of dollars of items from a Target store, turned himself into Maury County jail last week.
According to a report filed by Spring Hill Police, on September 19, 2020, Blade spent around an hour in the store before reportedly using his personal Target Credit Card to self checkout. He returned about an hour later, and when he was self checking out again, police said he only self scanned some of the items.
The police report said at least 44 items taken were household goods, including tweezers and skin care items. Target Loss Prevention representatives claim the items he reportedly stole totaled $281.
In addition to being mayor, Blade is also the president of First Bank of Fairview. Blade was elected mayor in 2018 and still had two years left in his term. Because his resignation is effective immediately, Vice Mayor Debbie Rainey will assume the mayor's duties for the rest of his term.
Rainey is currently a candidate for the city commission but cannot be removed from the ballot. If she is one of the top three vote-getters in the election, her win will be vacated and a special election will be held to fill the vacated seat that she won.
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