Hamilton County commissioners in the running to replace outgoing Mayor Claude Ramsey can have their interviews with the rest of the commission done in private, the county attorney says.
That reverses what Hamilton County Attorney Rheubin Taylor told commissioners last week.
On Thursday, Taylor told commissioners they would be violating the state’s Sunshine Laws if they held private interviews with fellow commissioners interested in replacing Ramsey, who will join the administration of Gov.-elect Bill Haslam in January.
But late Monday, Taylor reversed that decision after asking Elisha Hodge with the state’s Office of Open Records Counsel for her opinion on the subject. Taylor said Hodge cited old case law, which she said gave commissioners the right to interview each other outside of a public meeting.
“There is a court of appeals case that she shared with me today,” Taylor said. “They can go ahead, based on that decision.”
Hodge could not be reached for comment Monday.
Commissioners plan to appoint a new mayor on Dec. 27, without public hearings. Commissioners Jim Coppinger and Larry Henry have expressed an interest in being mayor.
At Thursday’s meeting, Taylor told commissioners that they can discuss the job privately with other candidates who are not commissioners, such as Mike Carter, Ramsey’s special assistant.
Commissioners who declare an interest in the job cannot vote for themselves nor on any other matters related to filling the vacancy. And the commission can choose to hold public interviews with the commissioners in the running for mayor.
Taylor said he also has requested an attorney general’s opinion but said the county would not receive one quickly. He said he deferred to Hodge because she is considered an expert on sunshine laws.
Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said he also knew of the decision, adding that he did not need to privately interview Coppinger or Henry. He said he already knows enough about them based on his experience as a commissioner.
Frank Gibson, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said he had not seen Hodge’s opinion so he couldn’t comment on it specifically.
On Thursday, he said there was conflicting case law on whether commissioners were violating Tennessee’s Sunshine Law by interviewing another commissioner interested in a vacancy and said it was a “good legal question” worthy of an attorney general’s opinion.
He cautioned that any action found to be in violation of the state’s Sunshine Law can be set aside.
But he said he “would find it risky going against the advice of my own county attorney.”
Gibson also said state law mandates that Hodge post any opinions she writes on the state’s Office of Open Records Counsel website.
There was no such opinion Monday, but Taylor said Hodge did not issue an official opinion. She just informed him about the case law, he said.
“I feel confident in what she’s recommended and us relying on it,” Taylor said.
Contact staff writer Dan Whisenhunt at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6481.