Chattanooga 2.0, the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Local 3 News will not host debates for the Hamilton County school board elections this year after more than half of the candidates declined to participate.
All five Republican school board candidates — Steve Slater of Soddy-Daisy, Ben Daugherty of Signal Mountain, Jodi Schaffer of East Brainerd, Felice Hadden of Ooltewah and Sherrie Guinn Ford of Lookout Valley — as well as Democrat Angie Stone Jackson of Ooltewah turned down invitations to participate in the debate series Chattanooga 2.0, the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Local 3 News have hosted during past elections.
Without more than one candidate in any district agreeing to participate, the debates cannot be held.
“Given the enormous importance of public education to our community right now, Chattanooga 2.0 and its partners feel strongly that voters deserve to hear from the school board candidates themselves about their values, ideas and priorities,” Chattanooga 2.0 Executive Director Keri Randolph said in a statement. “As we have done for multiple elections over the last six years, we were looking forward to hosting a series of fair and open debates where candidates could engage directly with each other and with the voters. Regrettably, for the first time in three election cycles, some candidates are choosing to deprive voters of this opportunity.”
Chattanooga 2.0 will send a questionnaire to all candidates and will publish the responses of those who respond, Randolph said.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County school board weighs differing salary increase proposals)
The general election is Aug. 1, and early voting starts July 12. Five Republicans will face three Democrats and two independents. The sixth school board seat up for reelection this year will most likely be filled by Democrat Jackie Anderson-Thomas of Chattanooga, who faces no opposition in the general election.
Slater, who is running against Democrat Tammy Barnes of Soddy-Daisy to represent District 1, said he declined due to time constraints. The district includes the Soddy-Daisy area.
“I have so many community events that are scheduled, so, for me, preparing for a debate would just take some time away from my campaign and take time away from my community,” he said by phone.
Both Daugherty and Schaffer cited either past or upcoming debates when explaining why they turned down the invitation.
“We are hyper-focused on Aug. 1 and feel the best use of my time and energy is in meeting voters where they’re at and knocking on doors,” Daugherty said by phone.
The District 2 candidates — Daugherty and independent Crystal Boehm of Signal Mountain — participated in a debate sponsored by the Signal Mountain High School Democrats in early May. District 2 includes the Signal Mountain area.
At the debate, they discussed arming teachers, the district budget, transgender student athletes and parental rights, among other topics.
The two will meet again for a candidate forum at 2 p.m June 23 at the Mountain Arts Community Center, 809 Kentucky Ave.
In February, Schaffer and independent David Sean Kelman of Chattanooga participated in a three-way debate hosted by East Hamilton High’s Advanced Placement Government program. Republican Ed Garcia, who Schaffer defeated in the March primary election, also participated.
“I’ve already debated him, and our community has already come out,” Schaffer said by phone.
At the debate, the three candidates vying to represent District 7 discussed arming teachers, the district budget, school safety and private school vouchers, among other topics. District 7 includes the East Brainerd and Apison areas.
In District 11, Ford and school board member Jill Black, D-Lookout Mountain, will participate in a candidate forum at 5 p.m. June 29 at The Bethlehem Center, 200 W 38th St. The district represents the Tiftonia, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge areas.
Hadden declined to comment. Ford and Stone Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.