Chattanooga hosted the first meeting of a Tennessee campaign finance watchdog group outside of the state capital on Wednesday, the first step in the board’s effort to be more accessible to other parts of the state.
The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, which performs audits and enforces laws about campaign financial disclosures, contributions and expenditures involving candidates, campaigns and committees statewide, met in downtown Chattanooga for its regular monthly meeting.
“The purpose of this meeting is the board felt it would be good to get out and travel around the state and let other folks in other cities know what we do,” Executive Director Bill Young said. “I want to thank the members of the General Assembly who showed up here today and also the other folks who showed up to welcome us to Chattanooga.”
State Reps. Robin Smith, R-Hixson; Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah; and Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, attended the meeting, during which the board discussed regular business ranging from enforcement actions to planning new ways to be more transparent.
The agency’s most notable decision was a unanimous vote to fine Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron $10,000 for ignoring previous fines from the board for more than 150 days.