Commissioners want private interviews with mayoral candidates

County commissioners on Thursday ironed out the basic details for replacing Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, but some said they are frustrated because state law prohibits them from privately interviewing fellow commissioners applying for the job.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Greg Beck suggested the state do away with its "sunshine law," which requires local officials to deliberate in public, because the General Assembly is not bound by it.

"Why is it there in the first place?" Beck asked. "Why is it not on the state level?"

Frank Gibson, director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said state lawmakers must choose at each new session of the legislature whether to be bound by the open meetings law.

Two of the nine commissioners -- Larry Henry and Jim Coppinger -- have expressed an interest in succeeding Ramsey, who will leave Jan. 11 to become Gov.-elect Bill Haslam's deputy and chief of staff.

As candidates, Henry and Coppinger cannot vote for themselves or on other matters related to selecting the replacement.

County Attorney Rheubin Taylor told commissioners they could not interview their colleagues applying for the job outside a public meeting.

Commissioners can, however, discuss the job privately with other candidates who are not commissioners, such as Mike Carter, Ramsey's special assistant. Commissioners argued that Taylor's interpretation put commissioners wanting to privately interview their colleagues at a disadvantage.

But commissioners did not vote to hold public interviews where all candidates' views could be heard by the whole commission and county residents.

Commissioners gave different answers about why they would not want a public interview, which is not required under the law. Commissioner Warren Mackey said he wants to "look someone in the eye" before making a decision. Commissioner Chester Bankston said a public interview would become "a three-ring circus."

Though Commissioners Joe Graham and Jim Fields said they did not have anything against a public interview, neither would commit to asking for one.

"I would say questions that might be asked are not questions they want to ask in public," Commissioner Tim Boyd said.

Commissioners still had plenty of questions for Taylor and asked him to request an attorney general's opinion on the topic.

If a government body violates the open meetings law, any decision it made while in violation can be undone.

Graham asked Taylor if it would be possible to talk with candidates if there was no vote or promise of support. Taylor told him no, it had to be in an open meeting.

"Well, will it be open if I met him in our conference room?" Graham asked.

"No, sir," Taylor said.

"Go to a restaurant? Sit down at Hardee's and have a biscuit together?" Graham asked.

"No," said Taylor. "Open is in here."

Bankston asked if commissioners could conduct private interviews through a go-between, and Taylor shot down that idea, too. He told Fields commissioners could have applicants answer written questions, but said all of it would be public record.

Gibson said court rulings disagree over whether commissioners can speak privately with candidates who are also commissioners.

He said a case out of Shelby County supports Taylor's position, while another case in Roane County supports the county commission's. He called it "a good legal question" and said getting an attorney general's opinion is a "good idea."

Gibson said repealing state open meetings laws, as Beck suggested, would be a "horrible decision."

He said the sunshine laws were passed to protect the public from the "harmful actions of government that result from secret deliberations and back-room deals."

"You wouldn't want them to be gathering in small groups of two or three to talk about raising taxes or rezoning land down the street from you," he said.