Clint Cooper is the Free Press editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, representing the conservative side of the newspaper's opinion section. Previously he worked as a lifestyles reporter, and has been an assistant sports editor and Metro staff writer for the newspaper. Prior to the merger between the Chattanooga Free Press and Chattanooga Times in 1999, he was sports news editor for the Chattanooga Free Press, where he was in charge of the day-to-day content of the section and the section's design. Before becoming sports news editor, he was a staff writer. In the Life section, he is responsible for the content of the weekly religion page but also contributes entertainment stories to the current section; health, home and profile stories for the daily Life pages; and general news articles to the news columns. In the past, he has written on technology and baby boomers for the section. Clint has received honors over the years for his writing and design in both individual work and work as part of a team or section. Among those are several best overall team coverage awards from the Southern League (when he was either lead writer or content/design editor), a best section award by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (when he was content/design editor) and several first-place awards in the community lifestyles category of the Tennessee Press Association contest (as part of a staff). The Chattanooga native is a cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in mass communications and did postgraduate work there in secondary education. Clint and his wife of 21 years, Donna, have one son, Patrick, 18. He enjoys acting, reading and running. Contact Clint at 423-757-6497 or ccooper@timesfreepress.com. You may friend him on Facebook.
The wheels of progress don't always turn as fast as we would like them to, but at least they turn.
by Clint Cooper 1 hour agoCandidates for the District 11 Hamilton County Board of Education seat didn't just set a record for raking in contributions for a school board seat. They obliterated the previous record.
by Clint CooperWe suspect most Tennessee Valley residents already suspect the flimflam aspects of the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act," which recently passed the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate.
by Clint CooperAn examination of election returns in the 2022 contest for Hamilton County mayor and the initial contest for county mayor under the current system in 1978 indicates how some county voting patterns have switched and some have remained the same based on the direction of national political parties.
by Clint CooperA 7.6-acre site along Lookout Creek at the foot of Lookout Mountain where Union troops once confronted Confederate pickets will now be protected land.
by Clint CooperWeston Wamp's third try at elected office proved to be the charm Thursday night.
by Clint CooperAttractive, well-maintained, well-located and open public parks make a city more attractive. No doubt about that.
by Clint CooperWere the hot dogs nonpartisan? That is the big question.
by Clint CooperTwo things seem clear in spite of last week's kerfuffle about emails between entrepreneur Weston Wamp and owners of the Chattanooga Lookouts.
by Clint CooperJust as the Hamilton County Commission had done with some $69 million a few days earlier, the Chattanooga City Council approved how to spend $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds last week.
by Clint CooperWe'd love for Chattanooga residents to be jumping up and down with excitement over Mayor Tim Kelly's new "roadmap" for "Ending Gun Violence in Chattanooga."
by Clint Cooper"Apathy is so thick in Tennessee," the Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful said, "it can be cut with a knife."
by Clint CooperWe thought the Hamilton County August general election might come and go without negative campaigning raising its ugly head, but, sadly, we were wrong.
by Clint CooperWith a group of unanimous votes last week, the Hamilton County Commission approved spending $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) money, including close to $10 million on projects requested by individual members.
by Clint CooperLost in the August county general elections across the state and in Tennessee's first ever partisan school board elections is the state primary election.
by Clint CooperIf there is any doubt how much politics has crept into school boards across the country, the Hamilton County Board of Education's actions on Thursday night served as an example.
by Clint CooperVery few partisan races dot the August Hamilton County general election ballot, especially when it comes to judges and constitutional officers.
by Clint CooperWhen the Chattanooga City Council chose Marvene Noel to serve as an interim council member in March, she was judged the strongest of seven applicants because of her deep ties to the District 8 community.
by Clint CooperThe 11-member Hamilton County Commission that voters will elect next month will have at least seven faces not a part of the current body and could have — including the two new seats added with redistricting following the 2020 census — as many as nine.
by Clint CooperWhichever candidate is elected Hamilton County mayor in next month's general election will become the youngest and most inexperienced mayor since the county switched to a mayor/commission form of government in 1978.
by Clint Cooper