Retention Votes aren't Equal to Open Elections

Brentwood City Manager Mike Walker recently made the assertion that if Brentwood's City Commissioner elections were held in conjunction with state elections in the fall rather than as stand-alone elections in May they would be "relegated to the same status on the ballot as, for example, voting for a state Supreme Court judge or court of appeals judge."

Actually, under Tennessee's current system Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals justices maintain their roles through a "yes/no" retention vote. The Tennessee Court System website explains it as follows:

Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals are elected on a “yes-no” ballot every eight years. When a vacancy occurs, the seventeen-member Judicial Selection Commission interviews applicants and recommends three candidates to the governor, who appoints a new judge to serve until the next August general election. By state law, judges on the three courts must be evaluated every eight years. Results of the evaluations are published in newspapers across the state, to help voters decide whether the judges should be retained.

Brentwood's City Commission election, however, would NOT be a retention vote (theoretically, at least), so equating the two very different elections isn't the most sound argument in this case.

When do you think Brentwood should hold the municipal election for city commissioners? May? August? November?

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass -- So Is the Williamson County School Board

Well, perhaps the "Brentwood Watchdog Jinx" is real. Or, perhaps not. A few weeks ago we made Brian Blavatt the very early favorite to be named the new Williamson County Schools Director from among the three semi-final candidates. We based our choice in part on the fact that Blavatt was the only one of the three candidates with previous experience as director of schools -- the other two candidates were assistants.

Instead, Blavatt was the first of the semi-finalists eliminated by the Williamson County School Board. That left Bret Jimerson and Dr. Terri Breeden for the Board Members to consider. After another round of interviews, day-long visits with each candidate, and tours of county facilities, the board met in a special meeting Monday night to make their choice. Incidentally, we made Dr. Breeden our next choice based on her ties to the area, having previously worked in Metro Nashville Schools.

The choice the board made Monday night may surprise you -- or it may not depending on how long you've lived in Williamson County. Tennessean reporter Maria Giordano's story in Tuesday's edition of the paper recounts how the board voted 10-1 in favor of extending the search for a new director because the final two candidates lacked leadership skills, vision, and experience. Remember, Blavatt was our first choice because of his experience leading a district. 

Making things even more bizarre, the school board invited Interim Director of Schools David Heath to apply for the position.

In case you've forgotten the sequence of events, former director Becky Sharber announced in 2008 that she would not seek to extend her contract when it expired at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. That set into motion a series of votes by the school board to fire Sharber. The board was successful -- on its third attempt -- by one vote (7-5) during the December 15, 2008 meeting during which the board made Sharber's dismissal effective January 1, 2009.

At the time, board member Bill Peach was quoted in a Williamson Herald story as saying, "We will lose more credibility if we do this than anything else we've done since I sat on this board."

Sharber's ouster forced the Williamson County taxpayers to pay her salary and benefits through the end of her contract in June 2009 -- a salary amount of $78,000. In addition, the taxpayers picked up the tab for the increase in salary given to David Heath to become the Interim Director of Schools -- an increase of $26,838. 

The board then hired search firm Ray & Associates to conduct the nationwide search for a new director at a cost of $24,000 as detailed in the Williamson Herald's online edition of January 15.

Added together that's a cost of AT LEAST $50,838 paid by the Williamson County taxpayers so that the school board could invite someone in-house to apply to become the next Director of Schools. The scenario offered a perfect opportunity for a smooth transition of leadership from Sharber to Heath by allowing Sharber to work through the end of her contract and then elevating Heath to a new post after her departure. Instead, the school board opted to spend more than $50,000 and STILL doesn't have a solution. 

How many computers, books, or even teacher salaries would $50,000 fund?

If indeed Heath is chosen how will the board members who voted to oust Sharber justify this needless expense? And if Heath is chosen how does that jive with the reason given to not choose either of the other two candidates -- lack of experience? Heath doesn't have experience either.

This whole thing is a fiasco that rests squarely at the feet of the Williamson County School Board. Meanwhile, Franklin County Schools didn't have too much trouble finding a suitable Director of Schools for their county, or maybe you've heard.

Is Low Voter Participation Better? Some in Brentwood Think So

Susan Leathers' BrentWord blog did some investigating on why Brentwood doesn't hold its municipal elections in conjunction with state or federal elections in November to attract more voters than the 14%-15% that typically come out on the first Tuesday in May.

Included among the responses to her question was this gem from Brentwood City Attorney Roger Horner:

Susan –
The City Charter allows the election date to be set on any date that is within 90 days of the anniversary of the first election, OR on the same date as the November elections. In 1987, the Board of Commissioners did take action to move the City’s election date to November, in an effort to get more people to participate in electing commissioners. Then, in 1992, it was changed again, this time to the first Tuesday in May.
The benefit of having a separate election, as opposed to combining it with state and national elections, is that the voters who turn out are focused on municipal issues. While moving the City’s election to November would bring out more voters, it’s likely that you’d get a lot of voters that haven’t taken time to acquaint themselves with the local issues or the candidates. Better to have a smaller number of informed voters than to have a large number of people who may just be pushing buttons without thinking it through.
Roger
City Attorney

Really, Roger? "Better to have a smaller number of informed voters than to have a large number of people who may just be pushing buttons without thinking through."

So, better participation automatically means those voters are less informed and just push buttons without thinking it through? What evidence do you have to support this? That the City Attorney would think such a thought is one thing, that he would provide it as an official response reveals a deeper problem.

If the move to November elections did increase participation, it's rather curious why the date was switched back to May. The move back to May, according to Mr. Horner, happened in 1992. (Two years after the arrival of Mike Walker as City Manager, coincidentally). The City Manager's response to BrentWord's question included this statement:

"The local election becomes relegated to the same status on the ballot as, for example, voting for a state Supreme Court judge or court of appeals judge." 

Again, that's one person's OPINION and discounts the many people who do pay attention to federal, state, and local issues equally. That two of Brentwood's highest-ranking employees would prefer low voter turnout to greater participation reflects poorly on a City sometimes labeled by those looking in from the outside as "elite".

We're going to do some more research on this issue for a future post. It just demanded a quick response at this time. Stay tuned for more. 

Are More Condos in Brentwood's Future?

Searching the pre-election campaign financial disclosure statements for today's Brentwood City Commission election showed a couple items that piqued our interest. We'll delve into more of them as time permits, but here are two not mentioned previously:

• Incumbent Mayor Joe Reagan and Vice Mayor Paul Webb both received a $250 contribution from the Home Builders Association PAC. The address listed is 9007 Overlook Boulevard in Brentwood making this the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee. Two names from the "About Us" page there are Reese Smith, III, (see next item) and Bill Kottas. Smith is listed as a National Director and Kottas is listed as a Life Member under Local Directors. Smith is currently the president of Haury & Smith Contractors, while Kottas is a partner with Cates-Kottas Development. 
• Reese Smith, III, and Stephen B. Smith (Chairman of the Board at Haury & Smith Contractors) are both listed as campaign donors to candidates Rod Freeman, Regina Smithson, & Paul Webb. Reese Smith gave $250 to both Freeman and Webb as did Stephen Smith. Candidate Regina Smithson received $500 from both Reese Smith and Stephen Smith. All the contributions were made on April 15.

Given that Brentwood is approaching residential "build-out" barring future annexation or rezoning, contributions from the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee are somewhat curious. More curious are the contributions from the President and Board Chair of Haury & Smith because of the current focus of their development projects: condominiums.

Cloverland Hall, a $10 million Haury & Smith development of condominiums south of Old Hickory Boulevard, features 31 units on 8 acres according to a February 2003 story in the Nashville Business Journal by Phillip Nannie. Some other statements from the Haury & Smith website include:

•  ". . . we pioneered the construction of condominium developments in Middle Tennessee."
  
•  ". . . the most successful garden-style condominium project in the Mid-South."
• "A move to active-adult communities continued in the 90s . . . "
• "A niche market identifies Haury & Smith in the Green Hills area with 'infield re-development'." (infill redevelopment?)
• "The company has identified many sites for their boutique communities of patio homes."

If "infield redevelopment" is, in fact, infill redevelopment, the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington website has a very informative section about what infill redevelopment is. A few quotes from the MRSC site:

"Successful infill development is characterized by overall residential densities high enough to support improved transportation choices as well as a wider variety of convenience services and amenities."

"A cooperative partnership between government, the development community, financial institutions, non-profit organizations, neighborhood organizations and other resources is essential to achieve infill success."

With OSRD-IP zoning and other recent movement towards options other than one-unit per acre residential density in Brentwood, is it possible that Haury & Smith see further potential for development of condominiums in the city that will require some partnering with city officials to make a reality? Just something to keep an eye on in the coming years -- no matter who wins today.

LAST Chance to Make a Choice

In less than 24 hours polls will open for the Brentwood City Commission election. Polling places are open from 7am until 7pm on Tuesday, May 5.

Those of you still undecided on how to cast your four possible votes from among a field of 10 candidates still have time to search out valuable information presented during the candidate forums.

WC-TV will air the candidate forum taped April 16 at Ravenwood High School today at 9am, 2pm, and 7pm on Comcast Channel 3 and Charter Channel 96.

The Brentwood Woman's Club forum held at the Brentwood Municipal Center is available on the city website and by clicking here.

The Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce forum is available for viewing on the organization's website and by clicking here.

Once the votes are cast and the results are in, the work will really begin (and quickly) for the four elected commissioners -- Brentwood's Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget has its first public presentation one week from today on Monday, May 11.

Support Your Local Blogger - A Word of Thanks

Just a quick note to say a word of thanks to Truman over at Truman's Take. If you've followed our exchange of late regarding the Brentwood City Commission election you'll understand why. If not, you've got some catching up to do -- and you can do it through a search on his site or mine.

Anyway, my point is that the growing number of bloggers in Brentwood can become a real strength for the people of our community by disseminating information, sharing thoughts, and providing places for people to discuss the issues we're facing. Truman's been doing it much longer than I have so I appreciate both his desire for accountability on my part and his willingness to follow along with this blog as we grow in the coming weeks, months, and years. 

If you haven't read Truman's site, give it a look -- I check it daily. Two other recent additions to the Brentwood-centric blogosphere that are on my daily reading list are Susan Leathers' BrentWord and Kelly G's Outside the Brentwood Bubble. If you try those out, I think you'll like them. (If not, send a request for a refund to BrentwoodWatchdog@gmail.com.) 

Blavatt Eliminated from WCS Director Consideration

Brian Blavatt, retired Boone County (KY) Schools Superintendent, was the first of three semi-finalists for the Williamson County Schools Director position to be eliminated following public interviews last week. This is noteworthy given that Brentwood Watchdog made Blavatt the early favorite based on being the only candidate with experience at the top of a school system and the similarities between his Kentucky district and Williamson County in terms of rapid growth and excellent education. Sorry for the jinx Mr. Blavatt -- if it happens again we may be on to something. What is known is that only about 50 or 60 people attended the open interviews at Centennial High School last week. That's worse than the 12%-15% participation expected in Tuesday's Brentwood City Commission election.

Don't fret though, if you've got kids attending Williamson County Schools you've got another chance to hear from the potential new leader because the School Board is now down to the final two candidates: Dr. Terri Breeden, a former school official in Metro Nashville now serving as an assistant superintendent of Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools, and Bret Jimerson of Grand Prairie (TX) Independent Schools. Each candidate will spend a day touring county facilities, meeting with administrators and staffers, and hearing from parents before facing a second public interview. The public interviews are scheduled from 7pm until 9pm on Thursday, May 7, and Friday, May 8, at Centennial High School.

Once those interviews are complete, the School Board could make its selection for a new director during a special meeting on Monday, May 11. To see if there's anything to the "Brentwood Watchdog Jinx" we're going to tab Dr. Breeden as the favorite now among the board -- even though she's got ties to Metro, this board seems to like a "known" quantity above all else. Check the earlier Watchdog post for links to Breeden and Jimerson's local district websites. Let us know which candidate you think will be the next Director of Williamson County Schools -- you've got a 50-50 shot at this point!!