Chattanooga District 9 City Council candidate John Kerns.As in District 8, we have sensed from residents in District 9 a frustration with the status quo, the feeling that current leadership is not bringing about the changes in neighborhoods that are needed and desired.
Councilman Yusuf Hakeem, 68, was initially elected in 1990, was re-elected in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005. Then, after being appointed to the State Board of Probation and Parole in 2006, he ran for his old council seat in 2013 and won by six votes.
Perhaps sensing the incumbent's vulnerability, three worthy challengers ages 40 and under are also on the ballot for the March 7 municipal election. Of those, we prefer John Kerns, 37, who started a business in the district and created more than 80 jobs for Chattanoogans.
The other two are Pat Benson Jr., 27, an employee in the development office of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Demetrus Coonrod, 40, who is both a customer service representative for T-Mobile and has her own commercial cleaning company.
We like Kerns not only because he has created jobs in the district but also because he has taken time to become thoroughly knowledgeable about the problems that face both the district and the city. He breaks those problems into four areas of concern: crime, economic development, education and transportation/infrastructure.
He says crime "is not just an enforcement issue" but one wrapped up in poverty, in the need to meet people where they are and in the need to "close the opportunity gap." Closely tied to crime, he says, is economic development, which should be focused on the neighborhoods and communities which need the most assistance.
"There must be a political commitment to these initiatives," Kerns says. "It's the council's role to make sure these communities are prioritized.
On education, he doesn't envision the city getting back into the school business but says it should be intentional about offering post-secondary school vocational training. Partnerships for such training could come from Chattanooga State Community College, Hamilton County, the state of Tennessee or trade unions, he says. Other partnerships should be considered for early childhood education, which studies show is critical for children's growth, he says.
Transportation/infrastructure needs must be examined now rather than later, Kerns says, both because there's already tension between traffic safety and traffic congestion and because Chattanooga's downtown population is expected to triple in 12 years.
"We can't fall in the trap of kicking the can down the road," the Highland Park resident says.
Hakeem, a Glenwood resident, says he's "demonstrated the ability to work with people of all walks of life" and points to the Wilcox Tunnel improvements, the planned conversion of the Standard-Coosa-Thatcher mill into apartments and a grocery store in East Chattanooga as accomplishments with his fingerprints. He says he's also joined with the council in tackling workforce development and early childhood education.
Benson, a Missionary Ridge resident, says he helped implement a block captain system and bring his neighbors closer together. As a councilman, he says he'll be a "bulldog on fiscal issues," vows not to be "a stick in the mud" about city programs that may not be working, advocates various partnerships for workforce training and maintains he'll be "the voice of the neighborhoods."
Coonrod, a mother of five with a compelling backstory, says Hakeem is "not a champion of people who are disadvantaged" and "has taken us as far as he can." She says she wants a city government that offers "opportunity for everyone" and "invests in the whole family." Though the city is not in the school business, she would push for schools zones based on economic status and on potentially free, "five-star" early childhood education.
We like Kerns, who says he "can't promise crime will drop or incomes will rise, but I can promise I will show up and listen, do the research and you'll hear from me. No one will outwork me."