Trina Baughn
Tom Beehan
New Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn has asked Mayor Tom Beehan to drop his bid for a third term as mayor and consider resigning.
In a column posted on her website and submitted to local media, Baughn lobs accusations at the mayor that range from his alleged public encouragement of “backroom meetings†on the high school debt to the alleged benefits he received from the $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center.
“An overwhelming percentage of Oak Ridgers have lost all confidence in Tom Beehan’s leadership abilities,†Baughn said. “They elected me to be their voice, and with this letter, I am keeping the only campaign promise that I specifically made: I will not cast my vote for Tom Beehan as mayor.â€
The seven-member council is expected to appoint a mayor to serve a two-year term during a Monday, Dec. 10, meeting.
It’s Baughn’s first major move as a new City Council member, and Beehan dismissed it with dismay this week.
“If you had to fact-check that whole column and label it, it would be ‘pants on fire,’†Beehan said. “It’s mostly fiction.â€
He said he would consider legal action if he weren’t an elected official.
“It’s called libel in the real world,†Beehan said. “If I were an ordinary citizen, my lawyer would be at work right now.â€
The mayor said he has no plans to resign.
“I will not do it,†Beehan said.
Baughn alleged that many residents believe Beehan has more power than he is allotted by the City Charter.
“Rather than appoint various council members to serve on over a dozen different political and economic associations, he keeps those roles (and his activities with them) primarily to himself,†Baughn said. “Many of these organizations are recipients of Oak Ridge property tax dollars, and some are thought to have competing interests with the needs of our citizenry.â€
Beehan chairs the national Energy Communities Alliance and serves on the regional PlanET’s board of mayors, among other things. But he said those leadership positions are not city roles, and he has been selected by nominating committees for some of them, such as the ECA and Tennessee Municipal League.
“That is not a city role,†he said.
The mayor said his job is to be a leader but also support the city manager.
“I’m very cautious and very careful about how I handle that,†Beehan said.
All council members have an equal voice in setting policy, he said.
As an example of “stepping aside,†he cited the appointments of council member Chuck Hope and former member Ellen Smith to represent the city in meetings with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a federal mandate to repair sewer system overflows.
However, Baughn said citizens and business owners alike are disappointed in the mayor’s handling of the mandate, which is expected to cost millions.
“The EPA water/sewer mandates are only just beginning to take their toll in the form of large rate increases,†Baughn said. “There is no projected final cost as of yet, but despite his extensive connections in Washington and with DOE (the U.S. Department of Energy), Mr. Beehan has done nothing to advocate for the citizens of Oak Ridge on this problem. Rather, he has voted each time to approve the issuance of multi-million dollar bonds without any consideration for his constituency’s ability to pay for them.â€
Beehan dismissed Baughn’s charges as “fiction again.â€
“I was involved early on,†he said.
Baughn said council and school board members who met one-on-one last year to discuss high school debt repayments pushed legal limits, although she stopped short of saying they violated the state’s open meetings law.
“I don’t think they broke the law,†Baughn said in an interview this weekend. “I think they walked right up to the line.â€
Under Tennessee law, government meetings are generally considered open if they include two or more members of the same public body.
Beehan said the one-on-one meetings between school board and city council members were used to clarify the positions of the two sides, and the process was led by the city manager, not council.
Baughn also alleged the mayor benefited from the Kroger Marketplace shopping center, a 25-acre development that will replace a neighborhood of more than 50 homes and other properties near Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue. Beehan is an affiliate broker at Betsy Coleman Realty, which has helped with the project.
“Countless individuals have expressed outrage that Mr. Beehan works for the firm that has made up to $1 million from the Kroger project,†Baughn said. “Even if he did not directly profit from the deal, Mr. Beehan’s role as a realtor has long been perceived as a conflict of interest, and there is no way that he did not benefit in some way. At the very least, the deal will enable him a longer term of employment and a possible chance to represent buyers or sellers of the homes to be purchased by those 50-plus displaced residents.â€
To derive the $1 million estimate, Baughn said she took total property sales for the project, multiplied by an expected 6 percent commission, and added some money for residual income potentially gained by helping displaced property owners find new homes.
Beehan, who declined to comment on the estimate, said Baughn was criticizing a business that has helped Oak Ridge.
“She attacked a small business that has done an outstanding job to give this city additional retail and sales tax,†Beehan said. “That’s ridiculous.â€
The mayor said the Kroger developers used a small Oak Ridge real estate firm, instead of a Knoxville company, and that’s not always the case.
Coleman, who worked on the Kroger deal, declined to comment in general, saying she didn’t have time to be concerned with Baughn’s assertions about her firm.
Beehan has recused himself from council votes on the Kroger project.
He expressed dismay at what he called Baughn’s lack of civility and what he said were character attacks based on information that is not correct. He said he is trying to move the city forward in a positive manner and said Baughn, known for her columns and critical analyses of government spending, is now a public official held to a higher standard.
“You’re not a blogger anymore,” he said. “The responsibility for the truth rises. You’re an elected official responsible for getting the facts correct.”
***
Seeking her first public office, Baughn was one of five candidates running for three seats in the Nov. 6 election. She also ran for a council seat in an Aug. 2 special election but lost to Hope.
Baughn received the second highest number of total votes in November, finishing behind Hope, an incumbent, and ahead of council member Charlie Hensley, also an incumbent. Baughn collected the most votes in Anderson County, but Hope passed her in total votes in Roane County.
Smith, a one-term council member, was defeated in the November election.
Beehan has been a council member since 2001, serving as vice mayor for six years before becoming mayor in 2007. He was the top vote-getter in the 2009 election.
kay williamson says
wow!!!!
Ck Kelsey says
It’s apparent Beehan has dirty laundry.
TJGarland says
Don’t forget the letter Beehan wrote to SAIC a few years ago without checking with city council. He offered them several hundred thousand dollars in tax abatement to move a division here. There was a great outcry when it surfaced.
Definitely overstepping his responsibilities.
He still forgets his job is ONLY ceremonial.
Tom, isn’t your scrapbook full enough of pictures of you cutting a ribbon?
Mark Twain said,” Never vote for a politician that campaigns for the job.”
BTW, his letter to all the council members(subsequently published in the papers) asking them to vote for him could be construed as a violation of the Sunshine Law.
Gayla Turner Bailey says
There could be an email or two “out ~n~ about” from vocal finger pointers that could be construed as violation of a few laws as well. 🙂
Ck Kelsey says
Emails(Free speech) among private citizens are now considered a violation? Wow . What about the 1st Amendment?
Sam Hopwood says
I do believe she is going to shake the “ole boys” up. Good for her!!
Nick says
I agree with Trina! Good job. Hopefully some changes will be made…
Trina Baughn says
“Beehan chairs the national Energy Communities Alliance and serves on the regional PlanET’s board of mayors, among other things. But he said those leadership positions are not city roles, and he has been selected by nominating committees for some of them, such as the ECA and Tennessee Municipal League.”
From Mr. Beehan’s Oak Ridge City Council Travel Notification dated Dec 4, 2012 for his trip next week to New Orleans (after having just returned last week from a taxpayer funded trip to Boston) and in his own words:
Purpose of Trip: “As chairman of the ECA I will represent the city of Oak Ridge and the ECA in discussions with the DOE and other agencies that effect local government. In particular this meeting will address legacy waste issues and its impact on the City of Oak Ridge”
Benefit to Accrue to the City: “Strengthen relationships with DOE, and other agencies that have missions in our city.”
TJGarland says
And we will hold our breath for a single-spaced three page report of his findings. New Orleans must be really awful this time of the year—
BTW, who gets all the frequent flyer miles?
Ck Kelsey says
More trips = more wasted money ,and taxpayers need a break !
Charlie Jernigan says
Trina, I do not understand your point about these trips or even the original point about this whole public argument in the first place. It seems to come from a lack of understanding rather than some insight worth sharing.
TJ Garland says
It would be interesting to see how much money our city has spent sending our world traveler around the country the last couple years. As far as I can tell, he has never given the council or other city departments any detailed reports on his findings.
I have an old friend in a nearby town of 6000. I asked him last weekend why he has run for, and been elected a working mayor, for the last 30 years, when his pay is $650 a month. He confided that he,and sometimes his wife, took as many as 20 trips a year to some convention or seminar to a nice city.
Trina, find out the city’s cost of Tom’s travels.
Was it a good investment?
Charlie Jernigan says
I would say it is well worth all of it since Mayor Beehan always represents the city well and understands what he is talking about.
Ck Kelsey says
He’s certainly not worth keeping if he causes the city to further into debt. Give taxpayers a break. Vote against high maintenance politicians.
John Monday says
Tom, why would you even think about taking legal action? Why not sit down with her and show/explain where she’s wrong, if she is wrong. Geesh!!
TJ Garland says
Tom: Trina, you are young and inexperienced and don’t understand how crony capitalism works.
Trina: Tom, seems like it hasn’t worked too well for Oak Ridge or the country. You and your generation has pretty much screwed it up.
Almost every city, county and the country has unpayable debt.
It’s time for a paradigm shift. Time for new blood and new ideas.
My grand kids will be saddled with the city’s current debt, plus interest.
Tom: Trina, we needed the tax money to pay for the parks, parking lots, the new high school, the golf course, the marina, bike trails, and tax abatements for builders. I did what other progressive mayors have done.
I used some matching federal funds, since that does’t really cost us anything.
Trina: But, Tom its still our taxes taken from us by force. Under your mayorship, we have close to the highest property taxes, sales taxes, traffic cameras that rob motorists of a million a year.
Tom: Now Trina dear, you must not fret. Trust me. I was a real mayor once.
Trina: Your condescending attitude will not fly with me. The voters spoke loudly
J. Valentino says
I would like to officially rescind my vote for Miss Baughn (what was I
thinking)…if she wanted to do some investigative reporting she should
have applied to a newspaper not run for City Council…Perhaps she
should focus her efforts on getting DOE to pay it’s fair share of PILT,
generating new revenue sources or working to cut some city expenses…If
she doesn’t want Mr. Beehan to be Mayor than don’t vote for him…
Charlie Jernigan says
Joe, I’m sure you are not alone.
Ck Kelsey says
Mayor riding a gravy train. Let’s raise taxes again so the mayor can spend it . Woo Hoo ,ride that gravy train .
J Ibanez says
I’m not sure of asking him to resign from the Council entirely. As he was placed by the citizenry, he should be removed by them from that role. Unless allegations of fully illegal actions are placed and verified, then he shouldn’t be forcibly removed from his post.
However, I am in full support of his not being re-appointed Mayor.
bogard says
Trina obviously is not the type of leader we need in Oak Ridge. Every time she speaks she says something negative, a personal attack on someone’s integrity, and never constructive. I wish should would think about doing something good for Oak Ridge like working to bring jobs or retail. She should stop wasting time with this kind of b.s. and get to work.
TJ Garland says
You have obviously not read her half dozen other missives. She has laid out some great ideas for the city.
Selective memory is a crutch used by many to justify views.
Martin Baker says
REALLY…refresh my memory. I dont recall her saying ONE positive thing during her campaign……
Ck Kelsey says
All you have to do is listen. However you may disagree that saving money instead of spending is “positive”.I think spending and wasting is the most negative thing a politician can do.The power to TAX is the power to destroy.
Ck Kelsey says
“Countless individuals have expressed outrage that Mr. Beehan works for the firm that has made up to $1 million from the Kroger project,†Baughn said. “Even if he did not directly profit from the deal, Mr. Beehan’s role as a realtor has long been perceived as a conflict of interest, and there is no way that he did not benefit in some way. At the very least, the deal will enable him a longer term of employment and a possible chance to represent buyers or sellers of the homes to be purchased by those 50-plus displaced residents.â€
Does this conflict of interest matter? Or is Socialist cronyism now the “NEW NORM”
BobStephenson says
Baughn needs to work on getting settled into her new position on Council, and learning the ropes before she continues her personal vendetta against Mayor Beehan. Very unmannerly and rude. I think I’ve heard that she also doesn’t support city employees, either. Oak Ridge will probably regret this appointment to council before it’s all other with.