James Wayne Cagle was elected to the Niota City commission even though he featured on the "10 Most Wanted" list in a neighbouring county, local news reports said.
The Monroe County Advocate and Democrat newspaper said Cagle, who upstaged his opponent in Tuesday's elections by one vote, is wanted for failure to appear in court on charges of driving on a revoked license and for writing bad checks at a grocery store.
Local officials who were apparently unaware he was a wanted man said the misdemeanour charges would not prevent him from taking office.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006