State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, exacted a measure of revenge in the House District 28 primary race in August, easily outdistancing Chattanooga City Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, who had defeated him in their 2017 City Council race.
He has no Republican opponent in next month’s general election, and since the district is gerrymandered to elect a minority candidate, he is likely to return for his fourth term in the legislature. But not if independent Dr. Thomas Brooks has anything to say about it.
Brooks, a retired gynecologist, has never run for office and says neither the Democrats or Republicans are “doing us any good” and that they have “divided us.” He saves his most tart invective for the Democratic Party, to which he was previously loyal but which he said “has not put forth viable solutions” and promotes a “culture of victimhood.”
We think he makes some good points, including that “no kid should be in a failing school” and that politicians should stop focusing on Project 2025 and start focusing on 2025 Chattanooga.
But Brooks is doing little campaigning, so we don’t see him as a viable option for the district. So, of the two, we endorse Hakeem.