Jay GreesonThe headline read "Officials cite voter fatigue for low turnout," and maybe that's right.
Heck, they are the officials, after all.
Here's what the poobah of the Hamilton County Republican Party told this paper's Paul Leach:
"It's hard to get people to come out and vote in the winter after a presidential election," Joe DeGaetano said. "If the city and county combined their elections, it would create more opportunity for people to vote in the city election."
Maybe. Maybe not.
The numbers - a disappointing 19 percent in this cycle - were not that different from four years ago when just under 17 percent voted in the 2013 city elections.
It's tragic indifference, but we'd argue that it's more "candidate fatigue" than weary voters. Who on the city ballot offered an inspiring choice?
There were some interesting Chattanooga City Council races, and hopefully the folks who prevailed will take seriously the challenge of doing their jobs rather than protecting their jobs.
As for the big one, well, from this point of view the collective indifference of the city's longtime GOP bigwigs screams to the "candidate fatigue" more than anything.
Think of the folks who reportedly kicked the tires on the mayor's race, and if any one of the potential familiar faces had entered, who knows if Andy Berke and his shaky first administration and closet full of skeletons would have tried for re-election.
As it played out, Berke had to find a way to beat a collection of opponents who generated little energy and even less momentum.
To be fair, kudos to runner-up Larry Grohn for running an issue-related race that did not get into the allegations of Berke's private affairs. It was a choice that in some ways should give all of us hope for the future of politics, and in others may have cost Grohn his best chance at winning.
Berke simply was too well-heeled, and maybe that was the reason the GOP heavy hitters stepped away and decided to wait four years.
And that's OK. The 2021 election will be wide open, and it's clear Berke's money rather than his merits was the hurdle this election cycle.
INTERESTING IDEA
City election cycle diatribe aside, maybe DeGaetano has a valid point about combining the city and county elections.
The more voice the better, right?
The more votes the better, right?
The more consolidation - which means saving taxpayer money for operating voting stations and what not - the better, right?
Who has a single good reason not to combine the elections, considering the savings and the potential for increased turnout?
THE CVB'S TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The war of words between the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau and Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd has made for fun theater.
Each side has a fair premise, in my view: Boyd, who heads the county's finance committee, should look for better ways to allocate tax dollars; Bob Doak, the head of the CVB, and his crew are spending millions to help our area generate billions.
That seems like good government oversight and a good way to spend our tax dollars. That's a win-win.
However, let's explore an another idea. The city of Chattanooga has been paying for the riverfront - the earmarked direction of its portion of the hotel/motel tax - for more than decade. Yes, at some point, we'd have to believe the city's debt will be fulfilled.
When that happens, here's saying the city and the county should split funding the CVB with the tax dollars collected from our growing numbers of over-night visitors. That actually is a win-win-win, considering once the riverfront is paid for, the city would still be getting a new influx of funds, the county would be able to share the funding of the CVB, and the good efforts of the CVB would still be funded to spend money to make more money.
SATURDAY'S STARS
I wrote earlier this week about Janice Robertson and the great folks who have coordinated the Snack Pack ministries out of East Brainerd Church of Christ.
Since, I have been amazed and impressed by the number of similar missions operating out of churches from areas that range from Signal Crest United Methodist to Wilma Jean and the folks at Benton United Methodist in Polk County to Rita and the angels at the First United Methodist Church in Dalton.
Among the many things that I truly treasure about living in this community is the way our area is willing to pick up and contribute.
I could write about it almost every day. But in some ways these good deeds need to be celebrated without being trumpeted.
I mean, the last thing we need is the Freedom From Religion Foundation folks coming down here making a stink about churches helping to feed hungry public school kids, right?
(As long as we're not praying over these efforts by these great folks at a football game, we'll probably be OK.)
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.