A proposal to limit the Hamilton County mayor to eight years in office set off an at-times tense debate over what the change would mean for local government.
Hamilton County commissioners during a Wednesday meeting heard from County Mayor Weston Wamp about a term limit proposal his office announced publicly Tuesday. The change would not affect Wamp’s ability to seek a second and third term as mayor, County Attorney Rheubin Taylor said in a phone call.
Wamp said that though the announcement was recent, the idea to institute term limits on his office is older, stretching back before his election.
Wamp presented the commission with a resolution that would send a proposal limiting the county mayor to two consecutive four-year terms to the county’s representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly. Commissioners are set to vote on the proposal Feb. 5. If the commission approves, the state legislature would then need to act on Wamp’s proposal.
And if the state approves the change, the mayor’s office would need a further level of support. Either the commission would need to vote again for the shift or a referendum of Hamilton County voters would be needed to institute term limits.