Rancor is a common word that describes political encounters by Washington standards.

There is outright dislike by those of differing political stripes either by political affiliation or issues.

It is representative government when a band of voices either on the left or right of the political spectrum are extraordinarily boisterous in deciding who is qualified to be vice president or whether Congress should move ahead with a comprehensive energy strategy. Results are not the measuring stick.

The country may be fortunate that the political discord at the federal level of government does not trickle down to those who serve closer to home.

A longtime Hamilton County commissioner, who is Republican, described his tenure on the local governing body: “We disagreed but we were not disagreeable.”

What a novel concept in government that honest people can have honest disagreements but they still can be friends.

The lessons from Hamilton County are numerous as the body celebrates 30 years as a commission form of government with a county mayor (formerly county executive).

Former commissioners readily acknowledge times when sides could not come together, but those moments of political separation did not create personal animosities.

County political balance and control moved from dominant Democrat to more Republican over a 40 year period. But in local politics the measure is less in political stripes and more in the ability to get things done.

In the 1950s and 1960s Republicans typically would nominate one or two candidates for county offices virtually assuring their election as minority voices in a dominant Democratic courthouse.

The political party shifts began with Republican takeover of the county quarterly court that appointed the school board members, school superintendent and a county ranger, among its few duties. Democrats controlled the five seats on the county council, the county judge and elected posts such as court clerks, trustee and assessor of property.

But the most significant change that tilted party control was the shift from five at-large county council members to nine commissioners elected by districts.

The state constitutional convention in 1977 proposed a district-based commission which was ratified by voters.

Hamilton County held the number of commissioners to single digits unlike other county jurisdictions in Tennessee that went into the mid-teens and higher.

Political alliances that might surprise some came together here in the late 1970s as leaders in the inner city and in the more rural ring surrounding Chattanooga came together to elect the first two African-Americans and the first Republican to the county governing body. The coalition had a single purpose: To bring representation to three-fourths of the county that felt disenfranchised.

There are those who will disagree with some of the politics of the past 30 years involving local county government. Tax votes, public school jostling and filling boards, commissions and vacancies at times bring disagreements and accusations of disenfranchisement. But the nine-member panel of commissioners during this span of time has been representative of the conflicting and complimentary points of view throughout Hamilton County.

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