Posted on 01/12/2007 1:08:42 PM PST by SmithL
Sheriff Tim Hutchison, eight of 19 county commissioners and other officeholders must leave office under a ruling issued today by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The court upheld the county’s charter and its term limits provision, which was approved by voters in 1994, for all government officials except court clerks and school board members.
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Affected officeholders include Hutchison, Register of Deeds Steve Hall, Trustee Mike Lowe, County Clerk Mike Padgett and commissioners Mark Cawood, John Griess, John Mills, Diane Jordan, Larry Clark, Billy Tindell, Phil Guthe and John Schmid.
They will remain in office until County Commission names their successors.
The high court upheld the charter despite agreeing with Knox County Chancellor John Weaver that it had some problems.
"While there were deficiencies in the adoption of the 1990 charter, substantive and procedural, we hold that Knox County exists as a de facto governmental body," the ruling states.
Weaver ruled the charter invalid last year after five county commissioners challenged it in an effort to prevent the term limits provision from taking effect.
The provision hadn’t taken effect after approved in 1994 because of a legal opinions that it shouldn’t be applied to county officeholders. A ruling in Shelby County, however, resurrected the idea that term limits should apply in Knox County, too.
The Supreme Court supported term limits in somewhat reluctant language.
"The voters overwhelmingly approved the (term limits) amendment despite the uncertainties as to its application and the questionable wisdom of limiting the terms of county officials exercising purely administrative roles," the ruling states.
"The term limits provision meets constitutional muster, and its intent must be applied to the extent possible."
The court pointed out the irony of voters approving term limits and then re-electing officeholders for three, four or more terms.
"While the limitations concept may be worthy, at least in theory, its application to popularly elected individuals, who have demonstrated competence and professionality in their service to the community and who remain the people’s choice for an office, is trying," the court wrote.
The ruling has been anxiously awaited by officeholders unsure whether they would have to abruptly leave office, as well as by term limits supporters who feel the county has ignored the will of the people by not applying the two-term limit over the past dozen years.
County commissioners planned a closed-door meeting this afternoon to discuss the ruling with county Law Director John Owings.
Knoxville attorney Herbert S. Moncier argued in a letter this morning to county officials that the public must be permitted to attend that meeting.
Moncier argues that a meeting of the 19-member commission must be open to the public for several reasons:
Moncier’s three-page letter to Owings, Commission Chairman Scott Moore and Mayor Mike Ragsdale makes a "prior demand" that Owings not provide legal advice to those seven commissioners and suggests that Owings services to those commissioners "may also constitute a misappropriation of public funds."
Moncier asks that commissioners be given a copy of his letter and vote on whether to have an executive session.
Ragsdale has stated that commissioners should open their meeting to the public.
Moore has said he will make a public statement afterward.
Asked to respond to Moncier’s letter, Owings said, "By the very language that is contained in his letter, he gives us every reason to have such a meeting."
Owings declined to comment on the language he was referencing.
Said Moore, "I think Herb’s going to be Herb. I don’t think there’s a commissioner up there that wants to do anything except the right thing. ? We’re going to stay within the law. We’d love to do it in an open meeting if we can do that."
Public meetings require several days’ notice, however, and Moore said commissioners won’t talk with one another, just with Owings, in the meeting — just as they can talk to Owings individually without notifying the public.
Asked to comment on the conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Moncier, Owings said, "We’re going to wait to see what the court does before we address that executive session any further. It may be that the court’s opinion resolves all issues. And then again it may be that it doesn’t, and so we’re going to wait and see what they tell us before we determine the necessity for the executive session."
More details as they develop online and in Saturday’s News Sentinel.
The headline is a little misleading. The ruling was actually about whether the citizens of Knox County were allowed to choose their own government.
Knox chose Charter Government, and then according to the Charter chose term limits for their politicians. The politicians ignored the law.
Last year, The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that Term Limits were legal for Shelby County, so Knox County politicians could no longer ignore the law. Therefore, a group of career politicians sued, claiming that the Charter itself was invalid, and a local judge agreed.
Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court validated the Charter, so many professional politicians that were just reelected are now out of work.
We need to get this passed at a national level also, I know there are a lot of good long term politicians, but to get rid of the likes of Kennedy and Kerry it would so be worth it.
Can be a good idea in some incidences but a very bad move in others. I predict the voters will be voting it down in the next 15-20 years.
I'm not convinced that term limits are a good idea. I am infuriated at the professional politicians who were perfectly willing to destroy the government of Knox County, just so they could stay in power. If it were up to me, the scumbags that instituted this lawsuit should be thrown out of office, and be barred from ever running for public office again.
I want to see federal term limits.
We need term limits in the City of Memphis. We have an egomaniacal mayor who has the job uless he either:
A. doesn't want it any more. (fat chance of that)
B. is arrested, charged, AND convicted of a crime
or
C. is carried out of City Hall in plastic.
Otherwise, we're stuck with him. King Willie is the poster boy for term limits in the City of Memphis. We also need them for the city council. Eight years for the mayor and city council AND THAT'S IT!!!!! Keeps new blood and new ideas flowing.
It all depends on which politician is being forced out of office. Ronald Reagan could have easily won a third term, but then, so could have Bill Clinton.
It is never a good idea for someone to have a guaranteed job for life. Even Republican stalwarts such as Orrin Hatch and Alan Simpson got wishy-washy in their old age.
In the good old days no self-respecting politician wanted to spend more than two terms in office: they either moved up or moved out.
I concur that term limits as normally envisioned may not be the best idea. I propose that the limit be on consecutive terms ie. serve two terms and then sit one or two out before standing for election again. This would allow a 'breather' from crooks and also allow the people to vote a good guy to get back in.
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