Hamilton County Democratic Party hires OpenLines PR firm

On Dec. 15, the day Ooltewah Democrat Bill Taylor announced his run for Congress, he quickly showed off his accessibility and gave his cellphone number to a few local reporters.

"Call me anytime," he said.

A week later, in the midst of the payroll tax debate, a public relations firm distributed a prepared statement from the newest 3rd Congressional District candidate. Attached to the statement was a phone number "to schedule an interview with Mr. Taylor."

The middleman had arrived.

The change came as the Hamilton County Democratic Party hired OpenLines Communication, a move designed to increase party visibility and, according to a separate news release, "[make] clear that we care about people and their quality of life," party Chairman Paul Smith said.

In a phone interview Monday, Smith focused on something different.

"Sometimes we feel like we're not publicized properly either in the visual or written press, and sometimes we're not covered," he said. "We're not interested in letting other people define us."

To that end, the hiring already has borne fruit. On Monday, the day after five juveniles and four adults were shot near Club Fathom in downtown Chattanooga, OpenLines sent a quote-laden news release titled, "Club Fathom Shootings Pinpoint Need For Tougher Stance, Increased Community Involvement, Say Local Democrats."

A Chattanooga online news outlet published the news release word for word under its "Breaking News" heading.

Janis Hashe founded OpenLines earlier this month. A former editor of the local weekly newspaper The Pulse, Hashe said she'll offer strategic advice to candidates and draft Democratic news releases "tied into news that's already going on."

Smith said it's the first time the party has hired a public relations firm. Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Marty Von Schaaf said the local GOP creates its media strategy from within.

Local Democrats will retain OpenLines "as long as we need the press," Smith said. Despite saying "our books are always open" during the interview, he declined to say how much the party is spending on public relations.

"That's a private deal," Smith said.