Early voting for the May 1 Hamilton County primary election begins two weeks from today.
Republican voters will have, at most, three choices to make on their ballots because most of the races are uncontested; Democrats, at most, will have two. That portends an incredibly light voter turnout.
You wouldn't have guessed that by the crowd at the Hamilton County Candidates Forum at Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church on Monday night, though. By the time it started, the parking lot was packed, but people kept coming in to fill up the church's social hall.
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We hope the huge crowd was a testament to both the promotional work of the sponsors, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and the League of Women Voters of Chattanooga, and to voters' interest in the offices and who should hold them.
It's not clear how many, if any, more opportunities voters will have to see so many candidates in one setting before early voting starts. If there are no more, we wish more candidates - especially Republicans - would have seen fit to include the forum in their plans. All 11 Democrats, including those running unopposed in their primaries, were present. Even one independent who will not be on the ballot until August was there.
It's true enough that the forum was held in heavily Democratic territory, and it's true that the county commission district in which it was held won't have a GOP candidate in the August general election, but it's always appropriate for candidates to face the public.
The only Republican candidates present were Catherine "Cate" White, who is challenging Judge Kyle E. Hedrick for a Circuit Court post, and Randy G. Johnston, who is a candidate for the register of deeds position.
The forum allowed candidates to give closing and opening statements and to each answer specific questions posed by the moderator and, through the moderator, from the audience.
» Victor Miller, the homicide supervisor for the Chattanooga Police Department and the Democratic candidate for sheriff, didn't say it in so many words but appeared to pit his race as his newer ideas against the older, establishment ideas of Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, who is the GOP nominee and is seeking a third full term in the office.
Miller described to audience members what he termed "forward-thinking policing strategies" and a "multi-layer approach to school safety."
» Miller and almost all the candidates present who were asked were against arming teachers in the face of school shootings, as was suggested by President Donald Trump.
Only two candidates, District 2 Hamilton County Commission candidate Elizabeth Baker and District 3 county commission candidate Rosabelle Gorman, did not give firm answers. Baker said she was "uncomfortable" with the idea and that teachers "don't want to be armed" but that communities should make the decision. Gorman said she wants "to say no" and ridiculed the thought that arming teachers was the cheapest thing to do.
Hammond previously had said faculty members familiar with firearms would be the "least expensive of all choices," according to Times Free Press archives, but had clarified that such an idea was "not my first choice nor is it my second or third."
» White said she hoped her race for Circuit Court judge might be seen as "the people's choice instead of someone (Hedrick) appointed for you."
Hedrick was appointed last December by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to fill the unexpired term of Judge Neil Thomas III, who retired in October. Haslam selected Hedrick from a panel that also included Jennifer Peck and Jim Exum.
White was among the original nine applicants for the post but wasn't selected as a finalist.
» Both register of deeds candidates overtly emphasized their experience in presenting their cases to forum voters.
Johnston noted he had 33 years in the assessor's office, a "sister office" to the register of deeds, while Democrat Vickie Schroyer said she had 35 years in the register of deeds office.
The other Republican candidate, state Rep. Marc Gravitt, has not worked in either office but has said he has 20-plus years of experience with it as a real estate broker/customer.
» The Democratic challengers for county commission seats in Districts 4 and 5 could not attack their opponents, as per forum rules, but both stressed that change was needed.
Kelvin Scott, opposing incumbent Warren Mackey in District 4, said the "people need a voice" and repeated several times that he would "fight for the people, be for the people and speak for the people."
Katherlyn Geter, opposing incumbent Greg Beck, said the "face of leadership has to change."
» The two Democratic challengers for Republican Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, in introducing themselves, come to voters from opposite ends of the spectrum. Aloyse Brown said she had experience "working with multimillion-dollar budgets," while George Ryan Love said he was disabled and worked a limited schedule for $9.70 an hour.
Our hope going forward is that the number of people at the forum, and not the few competitive posts on the ballot, will be the true representation of voter turnout for the upcoming primary. Our responsibility as citizens should be no less.