In the 2014 elections, incumbents in the Hamilton County legislative delegation got a free ride. Neither Republicans nor the one Democrat had either primary or general election opposition.
Even one of two open seats (District 30), where no incumbent was running, did not draw candidates from both parties.
All that may prove the popularity of specific candidates, the practical unelectability of the other party at a given moment, or both, but most incumbents won't have that luxury this year.
Of the five state representatives who face re-election, two (Democrat JoAnne Favors in District 28 and Republican Mike Carter in District 29) have primary opponents, and two others (Republicans Patsy Hazlewood in District 27 and Marc Gravitt in District 30) have general election foes. Only House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (District 26), a Republican, has neither primary nor general election opposition.
We believe our republic works best when lawmakers have to answer for their work and encourage healthy debate toward that end.
In August's contested primary races, and with no opponents in November, we believe Favors and Carter deserve re-election.
State Rep. JoAnne Favors during a meeting at the Times Free Press offices Tuesday, May 26, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.District 28: JoAnne Favors
Although Favors is the only Democrat in the seven-member Hamilton County legislative delegation, she by all rights enjoys a constructive working relationship with Republicans.
"I have to communicate across the aisle to get things done for my constituents and the county," she said. "I would be lost if I couldn't interact with the delegation."
Favors, 73, a retired nurse and health center administrator, has pragmatically worked with the rest of the delegation to secure as much funding as possible for wider area entities such as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Community College, Erlanger hospital and Volkswagen.
Although she admits she is "frustrated many times" that the Democrat minority in the legislature (26 of 99 members) can get little done, she nevertheless plans to fight hard for more education funding and heath care reform expansion.
We wish Favors were more open to education vouchers and charter school expansion, but she said she can't see her way to supporting an expansion of charters until public schools improve.
Her opponent, Dennis Clark, 32, who owns a small marketing business development firm and is a graduate of the magnet Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, is also opposed to vouchers to allow students at low-performing schools an opportunity to attend private schools but is open to charter school expansion.
"I want to make all of our schools great," he said.
Clark would like to see more control over schools at the school board level and wants to prevent local schools from having to be controlled by the state under the Achievement School District. He also believes criminal justice reform needs a bigger push, wages in certain industries deserve examination and a separate black Chamber of Commerce needs resurrecting.
He is concerned the local Democrat Party is not raising a new generation of leaders and that a "complacent group of leaders" has allowed the inner city to fall into ruins.
While we like Clark's energetic spirit, his passion for "mission work" in what he termed the "war zone" in the city and his understanding that things are not always "red" or "blue," we believe Favors is the better pick this time around.
Representative Mike Carter, Tennessee-R, addresses the crowd gathered at the Hamilton County Department of Education on Tuesday.District 29: Mike Carter
When Carter, 62, first ran for the legislature in 2012, he promised to end forced annexation by cities, what he now calls "one of the greatest injustices in the history of Tennessee."
Despite the opposition of the powerful Tennessee Municipal League, he was able to engineer such a bill to passage. He also attempted this year to give certain annexed areas the right to de-annex, but, despite House passage, the bill failed to advance in the Senate.
Carter, an attorney and former Sessions Court judge, says it's his desire in the legislature to seek "fairness"; "if you can't be fair," he said, you need to go home. As such, his votes - in some gun legislation, for instance - may confuse some people.
Although he believes in the concept of "constitutional carry" (wider legality for citizens to carry a handgun), in a constitutional carry bill this year, he wanted to require safety training; the bill eventually fell apart. And while he believes in gun safety, he also believes in "personal responsibility," so he voted against "McKayla's Law," which would have required guns and bullets to be stored separately.
"I'm the worst politician in the world," Carter said.
The Ooltewah legislator said more gun bills and perhaps a gas tax bill are likely to surface in 2017. On all, he said he'll seek pertinent advice and vows to come down on the side of "the right thing to do."
His primary opponent, Ethan White, a real estate agent and Collegedale commissioner, 27, has some differences from Carter on the annexation bills. He believes the state should "be careful not to limit the growth of cities" and that Carter's 2016 de-annexation bill was not "equal or fair."
He also believes the incumbent is not known throughout the district, has not fought for high-speed internet expansion and was wrong on the constitutional carry law. He also would push for a more free market role in public education, would like to see a "trial run" for school vouchers and would propose occupational licensing reform.
While we like what White calls his "common-sense Republican" ideas, we value the experience and true sense of fairness Carter brings to his votes and legislation. We urge a third term for him.