Russell Collins, who last week applied for the Hamilton County mayor’s job, on Sunday withdrew his name from consideration. Collins chided the commissioners for not holding public interviews of the candidates.
“I, as well as several other applicants asked for open interviews,” he wrote. “The commission has chosen not to allow this. I strongly believe this is an error in judgment. It denies transparency in the process and and gives the appearance of a clandestine ‘Good Ole Boy’ approach to politics. It gives the appearance that the commission has little value for the very citizens that voted them into office.”
Hamilton County commissioners plan to vote for a new mayor on Dec. 27. The new mayor, which will be an interim appointment, will take over for Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, who will join Gov.-elect Bill Haslam’s administration in January.