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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Newly appointed judge draws humble philosophy from strained roots

Tim Greenholtz talks in his office Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. Greenholtz has been appointed as the 11th Judicial District Criminal Court judge.
Tim Greenholtz talks in his office Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. Greenholtz has been appointed as the 11th Judicial District Criminal Court judge. Tim Greenholtz talks in his office Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. Greenholtz has been appointed as the 11th Judicial District Criminal Court judge.

In his 15th-floor office in downtown Chattanooga, here is what freshly appointed Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz might tell you about – political buttons.

You know, political buttons – those patriotic pucks printed with catchy slogans that get handed out like fortune cookies during presidential elections.

“Let me tell you a story about the ’56 election here in just a minute,” Greenholtz, 42, said Wednesday morning.

Did you know that President Harry Truman never spent money making political buttons?

That’s why they’re extremely valuable, he says.