Sohn: Times endorsements in county commission races

A roll of stickers awaiting distribution to early voters sits on a table.(AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel)
A roll of stickers awaiting distribution to early voters sits on a table.(AP Photo/Kelly P. Kissel)

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Taxpayers and Hamilton County residents, this is your once-in-four-years chance to make a difference and send a message about our schools, our roads, our public safety and our tax dollars.

Early voting begins Friday, and the nine county commission seats on the ballot are responsible for adequately funding or not funding all of those things.

Five of the nine seats already are named - simply by virtue of the fact that the holders were decided in the May primary or because no one challenged them.

District 1's incumbent Randy Fairbanks and District 8's Tim Boyd won their Republican primary bids and have no Democratic challengers. In District 5, Democrat newcomer Katherlyn Geter defeated incumbent Greg Beck in the primary and has no Republican challenger. The Republican incumbents in Districts 7 and 9, Sabrena Smedley and Chester Bankston, respectively, garnered no challengers from either party.

Still there are two-party races to be decided in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 6.

After years of our school officials and this paper chronicling our county's analysis paralysis on a tax increase that would fund some of our school, jail and sewage treatment needs, incumbent county commissioners at last shook themselves awake to change the millage rate in September. It was sorely needed, but commissioners still couldn't quite make themselves look at any kind of budgeting oversight effort that takes them beyond one year and one crisis at a time.

It's time for change.

Here are the Chattanooga Times page endorsements for those races.

Elizabeth Baker for District 2

Truth be told, Hamilton County can't go wrong with either of the two Bakers running for the District 2 seat on the Hamilton County Commission dais. Either will at long last bring a voice for the people of Signal Mountain, part of Red Bank and Lupton City. The largely silent Jim Fields opted not to run for re-election.

Elizabeth Baker, 44, is a newcomer to politics, but not to community and civic advocacy or - importantly - school issues. She is a Democrat and relatively new resident of Tennessee and Hamilton County who found, when she and her family of five moved here from Erie, Penn., that the county needs a more open and diverse government.

The mother of three says she has a penchant for collaborative problem-solving, and her talk of open and diverse leadership strikes a strong chord for those of us fatigued by a long dysfunctional county government that currently seats only two Democrats and two women - one a newcomer.

"With every issue there are things that we can agree on," she says of forging coalitions with the commission's (or any political body's) "extremes."

Elizabeth Baker's opponent is Chip Baker (no relation), the affable and locally well-known executive director of the Riverbend Festival, a former administrator of T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital and a former, 12-year Hamilton County Board of Education member.

Long on experience, name recognition and community service, Chip Baker also would be an excellent county commissioner. Although he's running as a Republican, he aptly notes that he's a moderate, and he, too, sees himself as the guy who brings together the extreme sides on issues: "I think I'm the salve. That's my strength. It's all about relationships," he told a Times Free Press editorial board.

We also like this father of four's view of helping Hamilton County improve our schools: "The budget working group's report is going to be my road map," he said. The Hamilton County Schools Budget Working Group, convened by County Mayor Jim Coppinger, consisted of 11 business and community leaders, including David Eichenthal and Nick Decosimo. The group spent six months analyzing the school district's budget and operations, seeking ways to spend education money more efficiently and boost student learning.

Elizabeth Baker also talks positively of some suggestions made in that report, including finding new streams of revenue for schools and perhaps separating school facilities' maintenance revenue from educational revenue.

On the whole, she sees education, transparency and being an engaged voice for her district as priorities, along with a more thorough examination of county PILOTs (tax breaks for industry) and how money is spent in other Hamilton County services. As an entrepreneur who started a recycling business in Pennsylvania before her sons were born, she feels up to the task.

In a perfect world, both of these folks would be on our county commission. Unfortunately they both live in the same district.

But it's not a perfect world.

We're taking a chance on the newcomer and the Democrat. We endorse Elizabeth Baker.

Vote Gorman over Martin

While we're talking about change, let's look for more. We endorse Democrat Rosabell Gorman over incumbent Republican Greg Martin in District 3.

Yes, Martin, 54, has experience on the school board and the county commission. But he hasn't distinguished himself.

Why is he seeking re-election? "I want to continue to serve the good people of Hixson," he says. He and his kids attended Hixson schools and they're "proud of our public schools education."

What's the biggest challenge facing him as a county commissioner? "Unfunded mandates from the federal and state government," was his tired answer.

We need change.

Gorman, 35, has lived in Chattanooga 21 years, is the mother of two very young children, has experience in banking, property management, human resources and small business ownership. She wants a seat on the county commission because status quo is not good enough.

"Hamilton County is a great place to live. But if you've not got a good idea, you shouldn't be in office. Our school system has been starved for funds for a long time. We have a huge school system and it has been conserving costs for long time. I've been knocking doors and been surprised that education is important here, even to retirees," she said. "When [current commissioners] look at our county budget one year at a time, that's a missed opportunity."

She's quick to note that she is not a "tax and spend" Democrat. As a small business owner, she felt she was constantly hit with "fee" taxes - some of which were often raised to avoid the dreaded "property tax" phrase.

"We have a good superintendent who is getting at cost efficiencies," but the system still needs more English-as-second-language teachers and more counselors, she told a Times Free Press editorial board. The "gold standard" for counselors is one in 500 students, she notes. We have one in 4,000. Plus there's technology that needs our investment. "Just saying it's too expensive is not good enough."

She thinks the commission and state legislative delegation should revisit the money directed to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and provide much more CVB oversight. She also thinks there must be a better way to run a jail than to spend a good portion of $90,000 a day holding large numbers of non-violent pretrial detainees just because they can't make bail.

"How do we invest in prevention?" she asks.

Indeed. Elect Elizabeth Gorman.

Give Mackey another term

Incumbent Warren Mackey, a 68-year-old retired Chattanooga State history professor and Democrat, is a clear choice over Independent Christopher Dahl, 35, who lists his occupation as "independent history investigator" for a website he created.

Mackey has been the county commissioner for Alton Park, Amnicola, Avondale, Bushtown, East Chattanooga, East Lake, Eastside, Kingspoint, Murray Hills and Ridgedale since 2005, and he thinks the biggest challenge facing the Hamilton County commission today is finding a trainable workforce.

To do that, Mackey believes the county must focus hard on job training and strengthening public schools.

He says all commissioners should be more "county-minded instead of just [thinking] of our little corner." He's right, of course. But Dahl is right, too, when he says that Mackey "needs a louder voice."

Another must for a Mackey voter is to tell their commissioner he needs to change his attitude about transparency. He's not for it.

"I'm not that guy" who discusses things on the dais, he says. "I'd rather go behind closed doors" and get issues worked out.

If you vote for him, make it clear to him that you want his work and discussions in front of you, not in a back room.

Also make it clear that focusing hard on job training and strengthening public schools begins with a much stronger look at the county budget than the current commission has demonstrated.

Sharpe will move us forward

Our endorsement for District 6 was a tough call.

Eight-year commission veteran Joe Graham, a Republican, is quick to note that his stand "for the millage rate surprised many people." What he's talking about is the property tax increase that our Republican-majority commissioners couldn't bring themselves to call a tax increase - even though passing it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Graham - a business owner and the representative of Lookout Valley, downtown, parts of Red Bank and North Chattanooga - asserts that he was the bridge that took the commission from refusing to look at an increase to passing one.

Kudos. But what took everybody so long? Why did we have to reach a point where there was nowhere to go from the low ground of 60 percent of our third-graders who can't read at grade level and 60 percent of our high school graduates who aren't job ready?

Sharpe, in announcing his Democratic candidacy, took on the status quo.

"It is time to move past the politics of complacency and obstruction and elect leaders who are committed to do the hard work it takes to get things done," he said. "Hamilton County is a community on the rise and I believe in our potential - that is why I am running. We simply cannot afford to continue electing politicians who block progress and stand in the way of success."

A 41-year-old businessman doing a stint as a stay-at-home dad, Sharpe says Hamilton County's growth must in the future be better thought out. He insists that the commission must do things more in the open and in a way that is sustainable.

"One of the most critical obligations the county commission has is ensuring our public schools have the resources they need to be successful - the success of our entire community starts there," says Sharpe, who was born in Hamilton County and worked his way from line cook at Big River Grille & Brewing Works to become a regional brewer supervising two dozen employees across three states. "We will not be able to continue to thrive and grow as a community if we continue electing politicians who do not take this obligation seriously."

Vote for David Sharpe.

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