At a breakfast meeting at Lillie Mae’s restaurant, the chair of the Hamilton County Commission lamented conservative political activist Charlie Kirk’s death and reminisced about what he described as more civil times.
Recently appointed chair, Ken Smith, R-Hixson, was slated to speak to the North River Pachyderm Club on Thursday about different initiatives before the County Commission. But after Kirk’s assassination at a Utah university Wednesday, Smith began with a more somber tone, calling for unity across parties and belief sets.
He said Kirk’s death is devastating, though he did not agree with everything Kirk — who founded Turning Point USA, an organization meant to rally right-wing youth — has spoken about in the past. Smith has watched the negative effect Wednesday’s shooting has had on his daughter, who was an avid fan of Kirk, he said.
“Nobody, especially somebody in front of a mic, should be afraid of speaking how they feel,” Smith said. “It’s important that we all reflect on the fact that whether you liked, disliked, disagreed, agreed — I don’t even care if you hated the man — that those children now have to grow up without a dad, and the wife has to raise them without a husband.”
Ken Smith talks Charlie Kirk, bipartisan unity at North River Pachyderm meeting
He said the assassination reminded him about the times he has been attacked for being a Republican, and how others around him have told him they’ve been afraid to express their conservative views.
He told the Pachyderm Club about his experience running for Hamilton County school board against Marty Haynes, now the county’s property assessor, over a decade ago. The conversations between him and his opponents in the race were always cordial, he said, even when over 100 of his yard signs disappeared and they had major disagreements over policy.
As soon as Smith lost, he and Haynes, also a Republican, met for coffee and cemented a relationship where Haynes is now one of the few people he truly trusts within politics, Smith said.
Smith sees that as an example of what the attitude should be in local and national politics, he said.
(READ MORE: Ken Smith unanimously elected chair of Hamilton County Commission)
“Somebody that was my opponent in a race is one of those people to me,” Smith said. “And that is because we had a conversation … How do you get things done? You work with people. Not people that agree with you. People.”
He said Kirk’s death is also reminiscent of a current political climate that deters people from running for office in the first place. It reminds him of when people park at the bottom of his driveway with bullhorns to insult him, he said.
“It was exposure to why more people do not do these jobs,” he said.
Later, Smith also answered questions from the club about updates on development in his district and the division of power between the County Commission and the mayor’s office.
The club bid farewell to its breakfast meetings at Lillie Mae’s, which is closing Sunday due to lack of business. Club members will look for another place to frequent.
Contact government reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.