Jay GreesonBefore we get to today’s discussion, I want to say thanks to all of you.
To the regulars who enjoy our exchanges, thanks for playing along as always. To the regulars who don’t, thanks for the exchange of ideas.
To the newcomers, pull up a chair because feedback makes this as good as it can be.
To the occasional passersby, well, I want to thank you guys, too.
With that, here are some hopes and wishes for some noteworthy folks around these parts for 2017:
– For Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, maybe the early months of 2017 could bring something – anything – his administration can trumpet as an accomplishment of the last three years of his time in office. After a fast start – the fact that a Democrat mayor in a very red area got the fire and police pension overhauled in year one was impressive – subsequent months in the Berke administration have been marked by personal controversy and sounds of political crickets. Whatever it is, here’s hoping that 2017 is the year where we rediscover city leadership – whether it’s Berke or any of the folks running against him – that matches the potential of the next chapter of our renaissance.
– For Hamilton County commissioners, here’s a plea in 2017 not to rethink the decision to eliminate the six-figure slush funds known as discretionary accounts. Gang, just because the mayor of Chattanooga decided to give away $1 million of taxpayer money to a noble cause that felt a lot like voter-pandering in an election season does not mean it is a good idea. Whatever it is, remember when you tried to tell your parents that everyone was doing it and they asked, “If everyone was jumping off the Walnut Street Bridge, would you?” Exactly.
– For Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, here’s a hope that 2017 will be the year that our county’s jail needs are met. The Band-Aids and fiscal pinching have led us to a place of no return. This must be addressed, be it by dipping into reserves, cutting back on tax breaks, redirecting monies from anything county-related that is not the school system or what have you. (And yes, that could even mean a potential, one-time tax increase, so there’s that.)
– For Chattanooga police Chief Fred Fletcher, here’s a wish that 2017 will bring him the much-needed – and much-deserved – break he and his team need in fighting the gang and gun violence in our city. This conundrum is much more textured than more officers, more money or more effort. In fact, the much-maligned Violence Reduction Initiative was at least an attempt at solving the problem. Sadly, it will take a lucky break – something that seems unjust for someone who has worked as hard and performed as well as Fletcher and his team – to turn the momentum in this fight. An unexpected informant or a witness willing to stand up, maybe. Whatever that may be, here’s hoping 2017 is the year we feel safer in our city.
– For Erlanger CEO Kevin Spiegel, here’s a New Year’s belief that the folks around town will come to appreciate the complete and universal overhaul that has occurred at Chattanooga’s public hospital. Whatever you credit our fair city’s metamorphosis with, remember that the list for continued growth is greatly enhanced by Erlanger’s growth and improvement.
– For University of Tennessee football Coach Butch Jones, here’s a silent wish that your post-game comments become less scripted than your buzz cut. Coach, there’s nothing wrong with moving beyond the planned narrative and sharing with your Big Orange constituency that you care as much if not more than they do. The “Champions of Life” quote is part of those talking points, and in a perfect world, college sports and its fans would embrace that. But this is far from a perfect world. Whatever it is, 2017 is likely the season that determines if Coach Jones is in Knoxville long term or short term.
– For new UTC football coach Tom Arth, may 2017 bring the same type of success that former Coach Russ Huesman miraculously got the city to expect from a football team that was among the nation’s worst before he arrived. And here’s one more for the new coach: May the support you receive be better and more vocal than what Huesman got from the fan base, at least on Saturdays. For the longest time, we heard from UTC fans that if the team won, people would show up. Whatever that was, here’s hoping that the fork in the road that Arth faces in 2017 continues the Mocs growth rather than reverts back to the pre-Russ days.
– Finally, for the Hamilton County Board of Education, here’s a desperate plea that 2017 is the year you understand that the status quo is unacceptable and new leadership – outside leadership – must be found. Please do not let the search for a new superintendent become a dog-and-pony show – and to be frank, last week’s conference call with the search firm was far from confidence-inspiring. There is such a clamor for change after a year of scandal, tragedy and underperformance that you have municipalities looking at nuclear measures. It is time to find a world-class leader, and give him or her a world-class paycheck. But whatever it takes, there is no more important decision looming in 2017. (And if you guys and gals need some extra coin, call the mayor’s office. He’s apparently in a giving mood, and it’s an election year to boot.)
Happy New Year everyone, and let’s hope 2017 is better than 2016, not that it will be that high of a hurdle to clear.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343. His “Right to the Point” column runs on A2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.