Seven elective offices are being filled in Hamilton County in 2012: five as regularly scheduled (four school board seats and the property assessor), and two so that voters can fill vacant positions that currently have interim appointees (county mayor and a county commission seat). Continue reading
The Times Free Press has the latest on the slate of candidates running in next year’s special election for Hamilton County Mayor. The election is being held to choose a mayor who will serve in the remainder of the 2010-14 term.
As it stands right now, two Republicans (interim Mayor Jim Coppinger and Basil Marceaux Sr.) will face each other in the March primary, and then a three-way race pitting that primary winner against independent Richard Ford and Democrat Rick Wilson will take place in August. If any other Democrats or Republicans qualify for the election, they will join the others in the primary. Any additional independents will simply carry forward to the August general election.
Additional county elections in 2012 will be held for the County Commission, 3rd District seat (special election); the Board of Education in Districts 1, 2, 4, and 7; and isn’t it time for the oddly timed Assessor of Property non-event?
Reports on Twitter by those in attendance at this morning’s Hamilton County Election Commission meeting say that the commissioners voted 3-1 to certify the petition to recall Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, and subsequently voted 4-0 to set an August 2012 election date for the recall vote.
More to come.
According to early results, voters in Memphis have “overwhelmingly” decided to surrender the administration of their city school system to Shelby County control.
Local readers will recall that, about seventeen years ago, Hamilton County and Chattanooga incurred a roughly similar school system merger.
With that in mind, Memphis and Shelby County are hereby wished all good things.
Today voters in Robertson and Sumner Counties who reside in the 18th Senate District will choose a replacement for now-U.S. Rep. Diane Black. One of Black’s rivals in last year’s GOP congressional primary, Kerry Roberts, faces Portland Mayor Ken Wilber, a Democrat.
Roberts is an accountant from Springfield. Wilber is a longtime public official in Portland. Political consultant Matthew Hurtt, in an endorsement of Roberts, says the Republican enjoyed a fundraising advantage, likely due to the help of another former congressional candidate (Jeff Hartline); but that Democrats will be mustering their get-out-the-vote efforts. Turnout is decidedly more critical in special elections than on regular election days.
Another open seat to be officially filled by today’s election is in the 98th House District. Rep. Antonio “2 Shay” Parkinson won the Democratic primary in January, and as there were no other candidates in the general election, was sworn into office after being appointed by the Shelby County Commission. The district was previously represented by the late Ulysses Jones, who passed away last November.
Last but not least, there is a citywide ballot measure for voters in Memphis. The referendum asks whether the administration of the Memphis City School System should be transferred to the Shelby County Board of Education. Should the voters decide affirmatively, the transition would be subject to a state law passed last month which dictates a merger process for Shelby County.
The polls are open today from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. CST in the applicable precincts.