Tag: Sumner County Commission

Sumner County Elections Hires Attorney Whose Lobbying Firm Represents MicroVote Election Equipment Used in Sumner County

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – The Sumner County Election Commission (SCEC), on a 3 to 2 voice vote, decided in its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday to engage the services of legal counsel to represent them against the County Commission. The attorney specifically named in the motion is a principal with the law firm’s lobbying affiliate that represents MicroVote General Corporation, makers of the voting machines used in Sumner County elections.

In his motion, Republican-appointed SCEC member Mike Fussell made the unusual move of specifically naming attorney Tom Lee to provide the legal services as one “who is very familiar with the workings of Sumner County government.”

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Sumner County Commission Passes Resolution Calling Out Local School System for Inappropriate Books

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Sumner County’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Monday night that calls out Sumner County Schools (SCS) for having books in the system’s libraries that contain pornographic material and divisive concepts, in apparent violation of two different sections of Tennessee state law.

After about 90 minutes of debate and hearing from SCS Chief Academic Officer Scott Langford, the measure passed with a vote of 15 yes, 5 no and 1 abstention, after an earlier debate that resulted in adding the item to the agenda.

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Sumner County School Director Ridicules Citizens and County Commissioners Opposing Eminent Domain Land Grab for New School Campus

Laura Baigert

  At a Sumner County School Board meeting on June 18, one day after Sumner County citizens overflowed the County Commission chambers of the legislative body to criticize a plan for a new Sumner County school campus that requires a paved greenway and sewer line cutting through landowners’ properties by an act of eminent domain condemnation, Sumner County School Director Dr. Del Phillips ridiculed those citizens and County Commissioners supporting them. Phillips, who has held his Sumner County position since 2011, complained to the School Board members in attendance about the length of the June 17 County Commission meeting and the objections to his plan that may cause a delay in the new school campus opening. Dr. Phillips minimized the number and called attendees “really, really, really mad folks,” made reference to a County Commissioner being an  “armchair civil engineer” and “untrained,” said it was a “glorious discussion” and “it was a fun, fun, fun, fun time.” The property to be taken by eminent domain, if an easement agreement can’t otherwise be reached with the 19 landowners by the public utility, White House Utility District, will be for a sewer line to serve Sumner County Schools new 265-acre elementary-middle-high school campus…

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A Call For Ouster of Newly-Elected Sumner County Commissioner Guilty of Two Separate Criminal Offenses In Less Than Two Months

Laura Baigert

Franklin “Gene” Rhodes, Sumner County District 7 Commissioner, elected to his first term as a District 7 Sumner County Commissioner, is guilty of two misdemeanor crimes since November 13, 2018, and there has been a call for his ouster. The most recent charge, disposed of at a criminal hearing on December 19, was for domestic assault. The charge came from a confrontation with his ex-wife, Melissa French-Rhodes, on November 20. As reported by The Tennessean, Rhodes reportedly pushed his ex-wife while she was holding a child in the presence of a male friend, French-Rhodes’ mother and another unidentified woman. When the male friend attempted to intervene, Rhodes apparently then hit the friend. The report said that French-Rhodes was “very fearful of the defendant; especially since he had been drinking alcohol.” The charges were filed on November 28, the same day a $2,500 cash bond was posted, according to the Sumner County Online Court Records System. Court records show that in the case was disposed of with Rhodes “guilty as charged” of domestic assault under Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 39-13-111, which is linked to the more general crime of assault under TCA 39-13-101. TCA defines assault as intentionally, knowingly or recklessly…

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Intimidation Tactics Used Against Conservative Republican First-Time Candidates Running For Sumner County Commission

Laura Baigert

As the February 15 deadline for candidate qualifying petitions for the May 1 primary drew near, intimidation tactics started being employed against conservative first-time Republican candidates running for County Commission in Sumner County. Three self-declared conservative Republican candidates were targeted, with two coming forward publicly and choosing to stay in the race. The current Sumner County Commission, comprised of two commissioners from each of 12 districts for a total of 24, were elected in 2014. As an outcome of the May 2014 primary, 11 new commissioners were elected to the body, the majority of whom were supported by Strong Schools of Sumner County. At a special-called meeting of the Sumner County Budget Committee, immediately followed by a special-called County Commission meeting the night prior to a national election, citizens were caught off guard when the property tax rate was taken from $2.02 to $2.50. Two months later, organized citizens turned out in the hundreds and brought forward a petition with approximately 4,000 signatures protesting the property tax increase. That heavily attended meeting lasted more than six hours, going until after 1 a.m. the following day, once dozens of citizens finally had their say. At the two previous monthly meetings, the…

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Sumner County Commission Approves Zoning Change to Accommodate Developer, Despite Citizen Opposition

Laura Baigert

  GALLATIN, Tennessee – With dozens of citizens in attendance opposing the Westbrook development, the Sumner County Commission, by a margin of 19 to 4, voted to approve a zoning change for property on Long Hollow Pike from R1A to Planned Unit Development (PUD)-medium density to accommodate developer TN Homesites. The four Commissioners who voted against the zoning change were Moe Taylor and Mike Akins (District 1), Kevin Pomeroy (District 6) and Merroll Hyde (District 8). Commissioner Jim Vaughn (District 6) was absent, but voted against it previously at the Legislative Committee meeting of July 10. The rezoning to PUD-medium density will permit the Westbrook development site-specific plan to include 99 homes on the 45.34 acres that would have otherwise been limited to 49 homes under the R1A zoning, which requires 0.92 acres as a minimum lot size. Meetings on the topic have been ongoing for months, and there has been consistent, ongoing and significant opposition from concerned citizens in the area who have organized as Protect Historic Shackle Island with a Facebook page that is currently up to 1,025 members. At last Monday’s County Commission meeting, dozens were in attendance and 13 citizens spoke on the issue, 12 of…

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