As candidate questions go, the last one was a doozy.
The local Pachyderm Club had billed its Monday luncheon meeting as a “debate” between 8th District Hamilton County Commission candidates Tim Boyd, the incumbent, and challenger Brent Lambert.
Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd speaks about his plan to reallocate $4 million from the county budget during a meeting with the Times Free Press editorial board on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Mayor Brent Lambert participates in an East Ridge City Council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, in East Ridge, Tenn.Both are seeking the Republican nomination in the May 1 primary. No Democrat is seeking the seat.
Instead of a debate, the format was that each candidate would speak for a few minutes, then take audience questions written on slips of paper and read by moderator Rex Sparks.
Lambert won the coin toss and went first. Born and raised in East Ridge, he’s finishing his second term as mayor and is the president and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Lambert touted the city’s rapid growth and development around Bass Pro Shops and Exit 1, which he called “the front door for Hamilton County and the entire Chattanooga area,” and took several shots at Boyd over his “very sour relationship” with various other political figures in and out of county government.