Sources: New Deputy Governor appointed

Former constitutional officer named to senior staff position by Bredesen -- Updated with link to official release

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

UPDATE 10:15 a.m.: The Governor has made it official. Click here to access the official release via Post Politics.

As originally reported:

John Morgan, Tennessee's former state comptroller, will be appointed deputy governor by Gov. Phil Bredesen, according to NashvillePost.com sources.

The position was previously held by longtime Bredesen advisor Stuart Brunson, who resigned the post last week to pursue a career in the private sector.

The appointment of Morgan comes on the heels of his losing his position as comptroller, a job he had held for the past 10 years. The new Republican majority in the Tennessee General Assembly yesterday voted out Morgan, a Democrat, and replaced him with Nashville attorney Justin Wilson, a Republican.

The position of deputy governor was created during the 1980s by then-Gov. Ned McWherter and is not constitutionally mandated. Historically, persons serving as deputy governor during both Democratic and Republican administrations have served as chief of staff for the governor and as a senior advisor.

An official announcement is expected to take place later this morning.