Cooper: We're all better off when candidates face opposition in elections

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said he learned lessons from his first attempt at elected office.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said he learned lessons from his first attempt at elected office.

Some months ago, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, was looking ahead to the possibility of a 2016 primary opponent and what all would be on the ballot in the August election.

"It's looks like the assessor's race and us," he said, unsure at the time if he would have a Republican primary opponent.

As of Election Day today, the assessor's race is the only competitive race on the August Hamilton County general election ballot. Further, Fleischmann has no primary opponent, Hamilton County's five state House members face no opposition, and none of the four Hamilton County Board of Education members up for re-election have opponents.

It could be a lonely voting day, although Collegedale, East Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Red Bank, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy and Walden also have municipal elections. But things can change.

The qualifying deadline for the August and November elections is April 7.

As of Monday, only Dennis Clark had picked up qualifying papers for an August primary run against an elected Hamilton County state representative. Should he qualify, the owner of a public relations business and radio show co-host would face state Democratic Rep. JoAnne Favors in District 28.

While Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is likely to be trounced by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in today's Democratic primary in Tennessee, two Sanders disciples have picked up papers to run in November's general election.

Julie Tolbert Nelson, if she qualified, would face state Rep. Gerald McCormick in District 26, while Katie Cowley, if she qualified, would face Rep. Marc Gravitt in District 30. Both women picked up papers to run in the Democratic primary. A third candidate, Patrick Hickey, also has picked up papers to run as an independent in District 30.

Four of the nine Hamilton County school board members, Rhonda Thurman of District 1, Dr. Jonathan R. Welch of District 2, George Ricks of District 4 and Donna Horn of District 7, face re-election in August. Welch, Ricks and Horn all have picked up papers for re-election.

Though we wouldn't wish the school board to have to deal daily with the type of problem like the disposition of Superintendent Rick Smith's contract it is currently considering, this is why they stand for election. We want to believe if we elect them they will both do their due diligence in researching the matter and will represent the wishes of their district.

To date, candidates have picked up papers to oppose Ricks and Horn. Woodmore School teacher Montrell Besley, if he qualifies, would face Ricks, and insurance agent and Army Reserve officer DeAngelo Jenkins and Chattanooga State assistant baseball coach Joe Wingate, if they qualify, would face Horn.

We've said it before, but it bears repeating that, while running for public office is time-consuming, expensive and often thankless, the electorate is better off when offices are opposed. It keeps incumbents on their feet because they have to defend their time in office, and it prevents candidates from overpromising when they are being checked by a political opponent.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaking to the inaugural session of the University of Tennessee College of Business Leadership Speaker Series on Monday, described how his own initial failed run for office was instructive.

He lost his 1994 U.S. Senate Republican primary loss to Bill Frist, he said, because Frist was a better candidate and better prepared. Thus, he said, he was better prepared for his 2001 race for Chattanooga mayor and his 2006 and 2012 races for U.S. Senate.

Along the way, Corker said, he had to become a better communicator because the realm of politics is far more complex than the business world from which he had come. However, he said, his business background "did help me with my peers" when he got to the Senate because they realized he was not "a one-shot Johnny" in the business world.

Whether such a background will help businessman in Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary - in Tennessee today and elsewhere - is not anything he would speculate on.

Whether candidates for higher office come from the business, teaching or medical fields is less important than "a record of accomplishment and success," Corker said.

We'll see if any more of those accomplished people join the local and state campaigns for August and November.

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In today's Republican primary election, the Free Press opinion page recommends:

* For president: Marco Rubio

* For Criminal Court judge: Tom Greenholtz

* For assessor of property: Randy Johnston

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