On Sept. 2, Hamilton County Commissioners voted against accepting the vacant school board District 11 seat. Several times.
Had the vacancy been accepted, the seat would be filled by election in November. The candidates would be selected by party leadership. That leadership, like the Hamilton County Commission, was elected by the people of Hamilton County. The 11 Hamilton County Commissioners will now make an appointment to fill the vacancy for the duration of the term lasting until August 2028.
Out of more than 29 Tennessee counties needing to fill more than 36 county level offices because of recently created vacancies, it does not seem that a single county in Tennessee, outside of Hamilton, is appointing a new member for the full remainder of a term. All 29 counties in the same situation are choosing to fill the vacancies via election Nov. 3. (Two or three counties are appointing temporary replacements until the November elections.)
Blount County: “A vacancy has occurred for school board, District 7. Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 5-1-1-4, this office will be filled by special election on the November ballot.”
Smith County: Mayor Jeff Mason announced on Facebook on Sept. 1 that six County Commission seats would be on the ballot in November: “Tennessee law, specifically T.C.A. § 5-5-102 and § 5-1-104, establishes how vacancies on a county legislative body are handled.”
The list goes on: Haywood, Lake, Madison, Carol, Cumberland, Gibson, Dyer counties, etc. It speaks volumes that Hamilton County is the outlier in interpreting state law when at least 29 other Tennessee counties interpreted this code to green-light a special election after a vacancy was created.
Sitting in the crowded commission room, listening to debate between County Attorney Janie Varnell and Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, on if the law adopted in 1925 was more pertinent than law adopted in 2017, I observed maybe a dozen individuals wearing campaign hats or T-shirts for Republican candidates. It was clear the Republican campaign gear was sending a message to the commissioners: support an appointment, NOT an election for District 11.
I did not, however, observe anyone wearing a Democratic campaign T-shirt. Is this because those in favor of an election generally viewed this as a nonpartisan process rather than partisan issue? Perhaps. Perhaps this also had something to do with how campaign gear (as well as hats in general) have historically not been permissible in the commission room. These rules are enforced under the discretion of the commission chair. As for the present chair, Ken Smith, R-Hixson? I’ve observed that he has enforced the hat rule over the past few years but not on Sept. 2.
This vacancy created an undeniable opportunity to politically wield power. Commissioners collectively received over 1,000 emails from constituents urging a November election but chose to do the opposite .
I am reminded of a stark contrast between the unifying leadership Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger demonstrated in his tenure, versus the more partisan, divisive county leadership I see now. It seems Hamilton County decision makers have positioned themselves within a political culture where even something as simple, and by nature, nonpartisan, as confirming a school board seat vacancy is now deeply polarized at the expense of the voters’ right to have their voices heard in elections. The test of honest leaders with integrity is exactly this: How do you choose to wield power even when it is more politically convenient to override constituents? A majority of the Hamilton County Commission failed this test. Commissioner Katherlyn Geter asked the million dollar question, from the dais: “Why is a majority of the Hamilton County Commission so afraid of competitive elections?”
Michaela Winter of Chattanooga is a Tennessee native and community organizer.
