Former Trion mayor challenging Jeff Mullis for state Senate

Lanny Thomas

The former mayor of Trion, Ga., has challenged 16-year incumbent Jeff Mullis for his state Senate seat, saying one of the most established lawmakers in the state's politics is disconnected from his constituents.

Lanny Thomas, a part-time physical education teacher at Trion Elementary School, will face Mullis on the Republican ticket in the May 24 primary. Thomas will be Mullis' first GOP challenger for the two-year position since he was elected in 2000. Thomas said local voters have told him the state senator does not listen to them enough.

In particular, he pointed to the debate in Walker County about whether the local government should still be run by a sole commissioner.

"They've been pushing for a board for the county commission job," Thomas said. "I don't think that [Mullis] has pursued that."

Mullis, R-Chickamauga, did not return multiple calls or an email seeking comment on Thomas' decision to challenge him or on Walker County's sole commissioner form of government. But in February 2015, Mullis told the Times Free Press he would not give in to opposition voices because he believed most people in Walker County support the sole commissioner form of government.

In September 2014, after Commissioner Bebe Heiskell raised the county portion of property taxes by 64 percent, some residents launched an online petition asking Mullis and other elected state officials to put a referendum on a ballot. The referendum would have asked voters whether they supported the county's form of government, in which one elected official makes all the decisions for the day-to-day operations.

The online petition gained 1,800 votes. But Mullis told the Times Free Press he was skeptical of the petition because nobody showed up to his office with the list of signatures.

"In 15 years in office," Mullis said in February 2015, "I've talked to 10, 12 people about [the sole commissioner form of government]. In 15 years. Does that sound like a mandate to you? Does that sound like a large, grassroots movement to you? Not me. Not one [of the petitioners] has had the decency, the courage to sit down with any of us in the Senate delegation."

An anonymous group running a blog called the "LaFayette Underground" organized the online petition. In response to Mullis' comments at the time, according to a March 30, 2015, blog post, volunteers in town walked door to door in some parts of the county, asking for more signatures. Including those online, the group claimed to receive 2,000 signatures.

On Feb. 13, the group issued a letter to Mullis; state Rep. John Deffenbaugh, R-Lookout Mountain; and state Rep. Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga. Neither Deffenbaugh nor Tarvin face opposition this year.

"We are not asking you to take a personal position on this issue or change the system directly," the author of the letter wrote. "[We are] only asking that you let US vote for ourselves to retain [the] sole commissioner government in the county or replace it with a multi-member commission. Simply open the door for a local vote."

Mullis, Deffenbaugh and Tarvin did not respond to the letter.

In October, the issue came up again. This time, delegates with the Walker County Republican Party voted to put a non-binding referendum on the primary ballot about the form of government. Earlier this month, Heiskell announced she is splitting with the local Republican Party, saying the group now leans too far right for her.

In addition to the sole commissioner issue, Thomas said this week he can bring a strong perspective on education issues to the state capitol. Thomas said he has been a teacher in Northwest Georgia for about 30 years, including 25 years in the Trion City Schools system.

He also served as Trion's mayor from 2000-04. After losing a re-election bid, he successfully ran for city council in 2008, serving another four-year term. Trion has a population of about 1,800, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This year's race will mark only the second time Mullis has been challenged in the Republican primary since he took office in 2000. In 2010, Mullis defeated Republicans Jeremy Jones and Jim Pope with 68 percent of the 8,600 votes cast.

Mullis began his Senate career by defeating Democratic incumbent Sonny Huggins in 2000. Since then, he has only been challenged in the general election twice, beating Democrat Bruce Coker in 2006 and 2008. Coker's best showing came in the first race, when he garnered about 37 percent of the 31,500 votes.

For 10 straight years, Georgia Trend Magazine has named Mullis one of the 100 most influential people in the state. He serves as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and is also a member of three other committees: appropriations, economic development and tourism, and regulated industries and utilities.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.