NASHVILLE – The three Republicans vying to become Hamilton County’s next mayor were less than enthused or noncommital Monday about using county tax dollars for a proposed new Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball stadium and accompanying residential and retail development.
The project already faces an uphill battle at the Tennessee Capitol, where a request by team owners, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and retiring Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger for $20.8 million in state funding is so far going nowhere. Most state Republican lawmakers from the county are skeptical and not supporting the funding at this juncture.
The issue was one of a dozen or so pitched at businessman Matt Hullander, of Apison, real estate agent and County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley, of Ooltewah, and entrepreneur Weston Wamp, of Chattanooga, who are competing in the May 3 county Republican primary, for which early voting begins Wednesday.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Matt Adams, who has no opposition in his primary.
Other issues discussed in the debate, sponsored by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Local 3 News, included public education funding and priorities, as well as whether to merge the county and city of Chattanooga’s sewer systems.