Oak Ridge Today

Survey: Do you support or oppose term limits, a smaller county commission, electing law director?

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Note: This story was updated at 3:55 p.m.

Among the issues in the campaign for Anderson County Charter Commission are whether term limits should be implemented for Anderson County commissioners and the Anderson County mayor, whether the County Commission should be reduced in size, and whether the law director should be elected.

We are curious what Oak Ridge Today readers think so we set up some poll questions to ask you. They are below.

Nothing can officially be proposed, debated, or recommended to voters in the November 2018 election until after the Charter Commission is elected this November 8.

There have been proposals this campaign season to enact a two-term limit for commissioners and the mayor and reduce the County Commission from its current 16 to a minimum of nine. There have been other proposals as well, including making the mayor’s position part-time, making the law director’s position part-time, and appointing a mayor rather than electing the mayor. [Read more…]

Charter Commission candidates debate term limits, reducing County Commission, electing law director

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anderson-county-oak-ridge-charter-commission-candidates-collage

Seven candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission sparred over term limits, cutting the Anderson County Commission almost in half, and electing the law director during a public forum in Oak Ridge in October. The candidates, all from three Oak Ridge districts, are pictured above. They are, from top left, top row, Marjorie Mott Lloyd, Steve Mead, Kathy Moore, Theresa Scott, and from bottom left, bottom row, Bob Smallridge, David Stanley, and Hugh Ward. (Photos by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission sparred over term limits, cutting the Anderson County Commission almost in half, and electing the law director during a public forum this month.

There was also a heated exchange over whether two candidates—both county commissioners, including one in her first term and another halfway through his second—are permanent officeholders.

The seven candidates are running for three seats on the eight-member Anderson County Charter Commission in the November 8 election.

The debate over term limits has focused on whether the limits are necessary, whether they would encourage more young people to run for office, and whether Anderson County voters already have the right to impose term limits through elections, among other arguments for and against.

As proposed during the campaign, there could be a two-term limit on county commissioners and the county mayor. However, nothing will be official until the Charter Commission is elected next month, and the Charter Commission is not obligated to consider the proposal. Whether the commission even considers term limits could depend upon which candidates are elected. Any changes proposed by the Charter Commission will be considered by voters in November 2018. If approved, they would go into effect in September 2019. [Read more…]

Charter Commission a ‘big deal’ for Anderson County, attorney says

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Joe Jarret

Joe Jarret (Submitted photo)

 

The Charter Commission being elected on November 8 is a “big deal” for Anderson County, an attorney said this month.

“If you live here, you’re going to be affected by it,” said Joe Jarret. He is an attorney who has served two different charter county governments as law director-chief legal counsel, a University of Tennessee lecturer, and former chief legal counsel to the Knox County Charter Review Commission.

Jarret said there are three types of county government in Tennessee: [Read more…]

AC committee to discuss review of law director’s office on May 4

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The Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee will discuss the review of the law director’s office during a May 4 meeting.

The committee approved the third-party review in February. It was proposed by Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski and modeled after the proposal to review turnover, morale, and administrative policies in the Oak Ridge Police Department.

The review of the Anderson County law director’s office could use County Technical Assistance Service, or CTAS, at the University of Tennessee. The ORPD review could use Municipal Technical Advisory Service, or MTAS. [Read more…]

AC Legal Services Advisory Committee meets this evening

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The Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee will meet on Monday, February 23, at 5 p.m. in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

This meeting will be for any other issues, not included in the ouster suit submission or its appeal, which is now before the state courts, that the public or any committee member wishes to address to the committee regarding the Anderson County Legal Services Advisory Committee and its responsibilities.

Inputs to the committee required written submission in advance (not less than 48 hours prior to the meeting) to allow review before the meeting, or be approved by a majority vote to be added to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, a meeting notice said.

Issues involving the law director may be included as long as they are not already included the Ouster court case documents, the notice said.

Letter: City willing to address questions, wishes county could say the same

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To the Editor:

I can’t help but comment on the difference between our county government and the government of the City of Oak Ridge.

In Oak Ridge, questions have been asked about the city government, and most of the City Council said they had a duty to look into the issues and either address real problems or clear the names of the those being accused of wrongdoing.

Now look at our county government. I have been to too many committee meetings and full commission meetings to even count. We have meeting after meeting where the benches in the room are filled with concerned citizens. Many of us believe there is ongoing wrongdoing and abuse of our tax money in the office of the law director.

I and almost two dozen citizens put our names to paper to officially raise these issues, and there are many more who have given us support or who feel the same way. But no one on county commission seems to care. [Read more…]

Mayor Frank vetoes resolution dealing with county’s legal bills

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has vetoed a resolution passed unanimously by the County Commission in December that would establish procedures for the county when outside legal counsel is needed for county employees not covered by the law director or counsel from the county’s insurance provider.

The measure would require all requests for outside counsel to be submitted in writing to both County Commission Chairman Robert McKamey and Law Director Jay Yeager.

The Clinton Courier News reported that commissioners found out about the veto on Friday. [Read more…]

Special judge appointed in ouster suit

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Don R. Ash

Don R. Ash

A special judge has been appointed to hear the ouster suit filed against the Anderson County law director in May, and hearing dates will be discussed with attorneys in the case during an August 19 telephone conference, officials said.

Senior Judge Don R. Ash of Murfreesboro was appointed to hear the case by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade, said Michele Wojciechowski, communications director for the Tennessee State Courts.

Ash is a former judge in Rutherford County, and he is assigned to cases throughout the state that need a special judge. [Read more…]

Fritts: Ouster statute does not apply to Anderson County law director

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Chuck Fritts, Myron Iwanski, and Dusty Irwin

Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts, left, is pictured above with commissioners Myron Iwanski, center, and Dusty Irwin. Citing an opinion from the County Technical Assistance Service, Fritts on Wednesday said the ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit.

 

The ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts said Wednesday.

Law Director Jay Yeager is essentially a county employee rather than an official, and the ouster statute doesn’t apply to him, said Fritts, citing the opinion of a legal consultant at the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service in Nashville.

Citing the CTAS opinion, Fritts said the petitioners who brought the ouster suit against Yeager should pay the legal costs if they lose. The county could pay Yeager’s legal fees if the ouster suit fails or is thrown out of court.

In an opinion sent to Fritts on July 29, CTAS Legal Consultant Stephen Austin said the Anderson County law director is a county employee and not a county officer.

“Accordingly, the ouster statutes are not applicable to the law director,” Austin said. Yeager made a similar argument in a July 11 motion to dismiss filed in Anderson County Chancery Court. [Read more…]

2014 Election: Commission candidates talk ouster, taxes

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During a forum earlier this month, a half-dozen Oak Ridge candidates running for Anderson County Commission said they support the county’s law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, while four others said they are reserving judgement.

A few candidates said the county’s property tax rate ought to be lowered, while others argued that officials have done a good job of holding the rate as low as possible.

Several agreed that the county needs to work on attracting more jobs, affordable housing, and retail.

All five of the incumbents seeking re-election in Oak Ridge’s three County Commission districts face challengers in the August 7 election. Voters will elect two commissioners in each district.

The most crowded race is District 7, where incumbent Jerry Creasey is seeking re-election but Commissioner John Shuey is not. There are six candidates in that race. Besides Creasey, they include Jimmy Bouchard, Mike Marsh, Denny Phillips, Kevin Rice, and Theresa Scott.

District 7 includes the Glenwood, Highland View, and Pine Valley voting precincts in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Irwin: Frank may have to hire commission attorney in Yeager ouster suit

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Chuck Fritts, Myron Iwanski, and Dusty Irwin

Anderson County Commissioner Dusty Irwin, right, has proposed a special meeting to possibly repeal an approved motion made last week by Commissioner Myron Iwanski, center, that covers legal fees for current and former county employees in the ouster suit filed against Law Director Jay Yeager. Also pictured is Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts.

 

Jay Yeager and Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, right, and Law Director Jay Yeager have been embroiled in several high-profile disputes, including over an ouster suit filed in May in Chancery Court.

Irwin says he’s willing to consider options

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank may be the only person authorized to hire an attorney to represent county commissioners responding to subpoenas or other legal notices filed in the ouster suit against Law Director Jay Yeager, a commissioner said Monday.

That means a motion approved 13-2 by the Anderson County Commission last week might have to be repealed, said Commissioner Dusty Irwin, whose district includes Norris and Andersonville. That motion allows each commissioner to hire their own attorney and bill the county, Irwin said.

He said his recommendation this week is based on his interpretation of state law and attorney general’s opinions. He’s called for a special meeting to repeal last week’s motion by Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who represents part of Oak Ridge and is former interim county mayor, and consider a new motion that asks Frank to find and hire an attorney to replace Yeager in the case.

“Although I am no lawyer, the attached seems clear that the commission cannot authorize or hire legal counsel in the absence of a law director, and our law director (Jay Yeager) has stated to the commission that he cannot represent or advise us on the ouster suit he is currently involved in,” Irwin said in a Monday e-mail forwarded to commissioners and the media. “Also, it appears to me that only the the county mayor can perform this hiring action and that the commission may only approve the expenditure by a majority vote.”

It’s not clear if other commissioners will agree. Iwanski was unavailable for comment Tuesday morning. [Read more…]

New citizens group will serve as county government watchdog, spokesman says

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Anderson County General Sessions Flagpole

Lynn Byrge, back left, spokesman for a new political study group in Anderson County, watches above as Brad Heun, right, commander of Oak Ridge Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Leon Jaquet, director of Anderson County Veterans Office, raise the flag on a new flagpole at the General Sessions Courthouse in Oak Ridge in September.

A new community organization formed to study contentious political issues in Anderson County will be modeled after the PolitiFact fact-checking website, a spokesman said Monday.

The group of Anderson County residents is called Friends of Anderson County Taxpayers, or FACTs, spokesman Lynn Byrge said in a press release. The release said members are concerned about county spending, debt, and the threat of property tax increases.

The formation of the new group comes just before the start of what is expected to be a busy election year in Anderson County, with candidates already announcing they’re running for election or re-election on county commission and for various seats ranging from juvenile court judge to chancellor to sheriff.

Byrge, who helped lead the effort to install “In God We Trust” signs on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, said FACTs has already organized study groups around specific areas of concern, including county commission’s legislative process, the sheriff’s department’s burgeoning budget, the role of the county law director, and the responsibilities of the county mayor. [Read more…]