Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is proposing that the county hire a new lobbyist.
A resolution expected to be voted on Wednesday asks Hamilton County commissioners to approve the hiring of local Republican strategist Chris Devaney and his firm, the Poplar Group, to promote the county’s agenda in Nashville this year.
“There was an interest expressed, I felt like from nearly every member of the commission, that the county maintain advocacy efforts in our state capital,” Wamp told the commission at a presentation last week.
Devaney’s lobbying agenda wasn’t spelled out in the resolution, which troubled some commissioners.
“I understand that Mr. Devaney is a highly respected individual in Nashville and has earned a reputation as an incredibly powerful political consultant for Republican campaigns. Some might even say a kingmaker,” Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, said from the dais. “Which is one of the reasons why I want to be really clear about what we are doing here.”