Hamilton County Attorney Janie Varnell painted a chaotic picture of her first days in office as she spoke to a room full of elected officials and community leaders Thursday morning.
It was her first time speaking as a county employee to the North River Pachyderm Club, a conservative organization that seeks to get community members active in government. Varnell has been in her position since July, following a hotly debated transition from former County Attorney Rheubin Taylor.
Taylor, a Democrat, was ousted by County Mayor Weston Wamp, a Republican. Wamp wanted to fire Taylor when Wamp first took office in 2022, citing poor handling of public records and issues with outside legal work. But the Hamilton County Commission moved to protect Taylor, who also fought back legally and kept his position when a court decision said Taylor’s contract stood until the end of June 2025.
Taylor spent over three decades as county attorney and 15 years before that as a county commissioner. All but one of his employees — a paralegal — left with him when his contract ended in June.