School board candiate

Saying his opponent has aspirations for higher office, school board candidate Joe Dumas wants incumbent Chip Baker to sign a pledge promising not to leave during his four-year term on the Hamilton County Board of Education if he is re-elected.

He’s heard Mr. Baker plans to run for County Commissioner Richard Casavant’s District 2 seat when it expires in 2010, Mr. Dumas said after a school board candidate forum hosted by the North Chattanooga Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. It’s important for constituents to know they will have the same representative for an entire term, Dr. Dumas said.

“The concern is that Chip would get elected to the board and then leave a vacancy, and (voters) need to know what they’re voting for,” he said. “The school board shouldn’t be used as a stepping stone for higher office.”

But after the meeting, Mr. Baker said he has no intention of signing Dr. Dumas’ pledge.

“I don’t trust a whole lot of what (Dr. Dumas) has been saying,” he said. “It’s my job to run for the school board.”

Though he mentioned his “fantastic relationship” with Dr. Casavant at Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Baker said he has no idea if the commissioner plans to run again. If Dr. Casavant’s seat becomes available in 2010, Mr. Baker said, he would “weigh all the facts” before deciding whether to run.

Dr. Casavant, who was not at the forum, said later Tuesday that he has not decided whether he will seek re-election in September 2010.

“Certainly if I didn’t run again, I’d be delighted if Chip did run, but that is not in the plans at all,” he said. “I don’t know why that would be a negative if it were true, which it isn’t.”

Mr. Dumas, who ran for the Hamilton County Commission in 2006 and for the Signal Mountain Town Council in 2002 and 2004, said Mr. Baker’s refusal to sign the pledge is an indication that he has his sights set on the commission seat.

School board Chairman Kenny Smith, who was present at the forum held at Chattanooga Theatre Center on the North Shore, said he didn’t think a separate pledge was necessary.

“The oath we take when we’re sworn in should be sufficient for anything we do,” he said.

District 4 school board candidate Gregg Juster said he thinks a similar pledge isn’t necessary in his race against incumbent Debra Matthews, but he doesn’t think it’s a bad idea.

“Joe has a commitment to District 2, and he’s asking Chip to make that same commitment,” he said. “That’s not unreasonable.”