The Hamilton County Commission may end up with term limits by the end of the legislative session.
During a Wednesday meeting, the commission voted unanimously to send to the state legislature a private act — a law that would apply only to Hamilton County — that would limit commissioners and the county mayor to serving three terms at any time, not just three in a row.
The proposal, spearheaded by Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, originally was meant to go to the November ballot for county residents to vote on, but the resolution was changed to take that part out.
Instead, if state lawmakers approve the proposal, it will come back to the County Commission and it will need to pass through a two-thirds vote. The proposal will likely come back before the commission before the November election and possibly before the county’s general election in August.
Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, was the one who asked for an amendment taking out the referendum vote part of the proposal. Last week, Sharpe expressed concern about the state being able to change a private act and then send it directly to the ballot without commissioner review. The change would make him more confident in the end result, he said.
“It’s been expressed by multiple people that the majority of our community believes in term limits,” Sharpe said. “And they may, but they may also not fully understand the implications of those term limits. But if that’s what the people want, and we know that’s what the people want, then I don’t see why we would need to wait until November.”
The eventual resolution to send the private act to the state passed unanimously, but the vote on the amendment passed 7-4. Commissioners Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy, Ken Smith, R-Hixson, and Helton voted no.
Graham and Shipley both pushed back on rhetoric against sending the measure to the ballot.
“So many people that I’ve talked to are looking forward to this on a referendum,” Graham said. “Let the people vote.”
(READ MORE: Term limits are mixed bag for Hamilton County Commissioners)
Helton’s proposal won’t be retroactive, which means everyone elected to the Hamilton County Commission either in 2026 or 2030 gets three more terms to serve, as well as the mayor, according to County Attorney Janie Varnell.
The timing depends on whether the proposal is cemented before the county’s upcoming August general election. If it’s approved before the election, it will go into effect for those elected in 2026. If it’s approved after the election, it will go into effect for those elected in 2030.
The term-limits issue was first up for discussion about a year ago, when County Mayor Weston Wamp asked the commission to pass a resolution imposing a two-term limit on the mayor’s position specifically. The resolution would have also cemented the rule with a ballot measure.
Wamp has put support behind Helton’s term-limits proposal over the past couple of weeks.
“Regardless of the technicalities of approval, I appreciate you all getting behind Commissioner Helton,” Wamp said during the Wednesday meeting.
The County Commission voted 7-4 in February 2025 to table the discussion. Helton at the time said the language in Wamp’s request was too vague.
Contact city and county reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.