Carter resigning, eyes future mayor run

photo Accompanied by his wife, Joan Carter, Mike Carter smiles as he talks with people outside the Hamilton County Commission room on Monday morning after commissioners deadlocked in making a choice between Carter and Commissioner Jim Coppinger to replace the outgoing County Mayor.

Hamilton County mayoral candidate Mike Carter all but withdrew his name from contention Saturday when he told the Chattanooga Times Free Press he will resign Monday as special assistant to the county mayor.

The 4-4 deadlock on the Hamilton County Commission between Carter and Commissioner Jim Coppinger for the county mayor position appeared to be broken Friday when Commissioner Warren Mackey said he would change his vote from Carter to Coppinger.

Commissioners plan to meet Monday to vote on a replacement for Claude Ramsey, who is joining Gov.-elect Bill Haslam's administration. If previous votes hold true, Coppinger should have a 5-3 edge. Commissioners must elect a permanent intermin by April 9.

In a statement e-mailed to the Times Free Press early Saturday afternoon, Carter urged commissioners who supported him to "vote their conscience" and said he might run for mayor in 2012.

He also restated his earlier criticism of the selection process. Mackey cited that criticism Friday as key to his decision to switch support to Coppinger.

Carter accused Coppinger, who as mayor would be Carter's boss, of being part of a backroom deal to assure Coppinger got the job.

The maneuver involved Fred Skillern stepping down as commission chairman in favor of Coppinger, the vice chairman. If the commission does not name a replacement for Ramsey, the commission chairman automatically becomes county mayor.

Carter said Skillern and Coppinger "manipulated the process" so Coppinger could become mayor without a vote.

LIVE COVERAGEGo to www.timesfreepress.com for live coverage of the Hamilton County Commission meeting Monday at 9:30 a.m

Skillern declined Saturday to comment.

Coppinger said in an interview there was no plot to put him in the mayor's seat.

Commissioners would have had to have known in September, when Coppinger was sworn in as vice chairman, that Ramsey planned to resign, he said.

"I think you can clearly see there was no backroom deals, no inappropriate action because of the timeline," Coppinger said.

At a breakfast for 1st District Republicans, Coppinger called for unity and healing.

"My goal, if I'm appointed as the new county mayor, is to pull everybody back together. I don't think that's gonna be much of a problem for the commission."

NOT BEHIND COMPLAINTS

In his e-mail, Carter also said he was not involved in the filing of ethics complaints with the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary involving Sessions Judges David Bales and Bob Moon.

Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern filed a complaint against both Bales and Moon in early December. Two attorneys from the Chattanooga Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed a complaint against Bales in November.

The complainants all told the Times Free Press last week they had contacted the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary later to report they had heard Bales and Moon were pressuring commissioners to vote against Carter.

"I think the record now clearly shows that I had absolutely nothing to do with the complaint against the two judges," Carter said. "Nevertheless, many commissioners were told I was responsible."

AN OPEN SEAT

While complaining of manipulation in the mayoral race, Carter also suggested that commissioners were planning to appoint Mitch McClure, a volunteer chaplain at the sheriff's office, to Coppinger's District 3 commission seat.

McClure has the support of Ed Gravitte, vice chairman for the Northgate precinct of the Hamilton County Republican Party and a former bail bondsman.

Gravitte said Saturday he suggested McClure apply if the seat comes open. He said he has talked to one county commissioner and is open to talking to others about the choice.

"Mitch is just a good, honest individual," Gravitte said. "He's a Christian individual."

McClure's and Gravitte's names also appear side by side on a website for Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles, who ran as a Democrat for re-election in 2010 before switching to the Republican Party. Both are quoted praising Knowles and urging his re-election.

McClure said Gravitte has spoken with him and said he is "flattered" by the interest, but said for now Coppinger is still his commissioner.

Future political plans

Carter, an attorney, made $95,000 a year as Ramsey's special assistant, a job that did not exist before Carter was hired. He said he plans to rejoin the private sector but that he's "praying about running for office in 2012."

"This experience showed me many things about the ugly side of politics, but public service is still an honorable thing to do," Carter wrote in the e-mail. "However, I have the time, friends and commitment to prepare for 2012 and I intend to prayerfully consider running for County Mayor over the next few months."

Carter was appointed a General Sessions judge in 1997 and was elected for an eight-year term in 1998. He resigned in 2005 to join Life Care Centers of America.

Richard Wilson, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said he still thinks Carter could be a viable candidate in 2012.

He believes that with time, people will look past the conflict and realize that the process is the problem.

He said asking county commissioners -- not voters -- to select the next mayor is "flawed."

"Despite the cost, I think an important office like county mayor should be subject to a countywide public election to save all of the political turmoil of asking nine people to vote when tens of thousands of people should vote," he said.

Contact staff writer Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DWhisenhunt.


Carter's full statement

Carter: "Being Candidate for County Mayor an Honor"

County Mayor Candidate Mike Carter said today that he has been honored to be a candidate for the County Mayor's office and that he is prayerfully considering running for the office in 2012. Carter also said he will resign his position in the County Mayor's office effective Monday.

"The overwhelming support in the form of emails, phone calls and prayers over the past few weeks has been humbling and is deeply appreciated by me and my family," said Carter. "Being a candidate for County Mayor has been an honor because of the incredible people that I have had the privilege to talk to over the past month."

Carter said he respects Commissioner Warren Mackey's decision to change his vote. "I told the four Commissioners supporting me on Friday that I wanted them to ignore the prior votes and to vote their conscience on Monday morning. I thank Commissioners Beck, Boyd, Bankston and Mackey for supporting me."

Carter said he was dismayed that the process to select an interim County Mayor did not reflect the transparency and openness that County citizens deserve. "As former County Executive Dalton Roberts said in the paper Friday morning, it is clear to all who chose to see that Commissioner Skillern and our soon-to-be County Mayor Coppinger had manipulated the process to allow Commissioner Coppinger to become mayor, and if necessary, without a vote. With Commissioner Mackey's change of heart, that won't be the case, but the transparency of the Commission's work will be interesting to watch in the days and months ahead."

Carter said the worst part of the process were the falsehoods and attacks on his character. "There were a lot of things said behind the scenes about me that were simply lies, and I have to believe the people saying them knew they were lies. I guess that is part of being a political candidate, but that's very unfortunate."

Carter pointed to the assertion made by some that he was the source of information regarding the ethics complaint filed against Judges Bob Moon and David Bales. "I think the record now clearly shows that I had absolutely nothing to do with the complaint against the two judges. Nevertheless, many Commissioners were told I was responsible."

Carter said he would submit a letter of resignation to Mayor Claude Ramsey on Monday for his position in the Mayor's office and that he will continue to work in the private sector.

"I know I have the skills and abilities to be County Mayor, and Joan and I are already praying about running for office in 2012. This experience showed me many things about the ugly side of politics, but public service is still an honorable thing to do. However, I have the time, friends and commitment to prepare for 2012 and I intend to prayerfully consider running for County Mayor over the next few months."

Upcoming Events