Tennessee state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, urged people to exercise their right to vote. Doing so, he said, will help assure that state-level issues will be addressed.
A cross section of city, county and state elected officials serving Chattanooga’s 37406 and 37410 zip codes gathered Thursday for a community conversation at the New United Missionary Baptist Church.
The participating officials represent areas of Chattanooga that are majority Black and rank in the bottom five Hamilton County ZIP codes for household income, according to 2022 U.S. census data.
(READ MORE: Here are Hamilton County’s richest and poorest ZIP codes)
The elected officials drove home to the approximately 100 attendees to exercise their knowledge, their ability to vote, and to support them, their elected officials, by showing up to meetings.
The town hall hosted by the Social Action Committee of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Chattanooga Alumni Chapter, featured a panel with Hakeem, Hamilton County school board member Karitsa Jones, D-Chattanooga, Chattanooga City Council members Dennis Clark of Cherokee Woods and Ron Elliott of Missionary Ridge and Hamilton County Commissioners Greg Beck, D-North Brainerd, and Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista.
Lawmakers working in Chattanooga’s poorest ZIP codes seek support
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded in 1913 by 22 collegiate women at Howard University to promote academic excellence and provide assistance to those in need, according to the organization’s website. Comprised primarily of Black, college-educated women, it has 350,000 initiated members and over 1,050 chartered chapters worldwide.
HAKEEM
Hakeem, who serves in a General Assembly dominated by a Republican supermajority, is the singular Democratic member of the Hamilton County legislative delegation.
He said getting out the 30% to 40% of people who sit at home at election time to vote is how issues can be addressed.
“You know, sometimes you feel like the world is on your shoulders, but it’s only so much that a few of us can do in the legislature,” Hakeem said. “But together, your input and our input, we can make a difference.”
JONES
Jones, first elected to the school board in 2014, said she is not running again and hopes there is someone who will take her place.
Jones, a licensed social worker, said access to mental health support in Hamilton County Schools is what keeps her up at night.
The Hamilton County school district announced Wednesday it would seek bids from organizations that provide mental health services to students. The move followed two recent school board votes not to renew a long-standing contract with Centerstone Community Mental Health Centers.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County school-based mental health services up for vote again)
Jones has been an advocate of Centerstone in Hamilton County schools.
“But long story short, the removal of Centerstone services in our schools is all political,” Jones said. “It is completely political, completely R versus D, if you want to say that, but it is all political, completely political.”
Jones asked attendees to come out and speak up in support of Centerstone at school board meetings.
CLARK
Clark started on the City Council six months ago and said his primary role is to make sure his district gets the same investment as other districts.
“My primary role is to make sure we get our fair share of everything, and I mean everything, every budget cycle,” Clark said. “To make sure our community is just as vibrant as any other communities that are showing progress.”
ELLIOTT
Elliott has also been on the City Council for about six months and said this budget cycle, he was able to get the largest single investment in money and resources in the last decade into his district.
Moving forward, Elliott said he wants to find a permanent space for the senior center and close the loop on food deserts.
“I am looking to bring life into parts of my district, like Glass Street,” Elliott said. “We’re going to look to bring that into the Arts Cultural District to bring vitality back into that community, but also preserving our people, so we’re not finding ourselves pushed out in communities we’ve called home for years.”
MACKEY
Mackey, one of the three Democratic county commissioners, said his work is dedicated to strengthening family, the church and schools.
“The way I see life is, if we’re to do well, there are three institutions that need to be strong,” Mackey said.
Reinvigorating churches with kids, strengthening the family unit and ensuring schools are strong is how Mackey said children and the community can thrive.
BECK
Beck has dedicated time as a commissioner to opening Hamilton County Victims Memorial Park. The park broke ground in spring 2024 and honors victims of violent crimes.
“We were concerned about crime and the murders that are going on here in Hamilton County. For the last 10 years, over 300 of our boys and girls have been murdered here,” Beck said. “So somebody’s gotta do something about that.”
Contact politics reporter Ruby Rayner at rrayner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6556.