Democratic Hamilton County commissioners are calling for voters, rather than commissioners, to choose a new county school board member after District 11’s representative resigned.
The five Democrats on the 11-member commission gathered Tuesday outside the Chattanooga Convention Center for a press conference advocating for the seat to be put on county ballots in November.
Hamilton County commissioners are set to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would put the seat vacated by Jill Black, D-Lookout Mountain, on the ballot.
Black, who is moving to Canada with her family, resigned from the seat Aug. 21. She has served on the 11-member school board since 2022 and has two years left on her term.
District 11 includes Alton Park, East Lake, Lookout Mountain and Lookout Valley.
(READ MORE: Democrat Jill Black leaves Hamilton County school board)
Democratic Hamilton County commissioners call for election to fill school board vacancy
According to Tennessee law, if a vacancy occurs on the county school board less than 60 days before the August election but 60 days or more before the November election, then nominees of political parties are selected by the party’s county caucus and a successor is chosen by voters in the November election.
Independent candidates would also have the ability to file to run for the seat, Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, said in an interview.
Sharpe requested commission Chair Ken Smith, R-Hixson, put the resolution on the commission’s Sept. 2 agenda.
The 60-day deadline before the November election is Friday, and the resolution on Wednesday’s agenda recognizes the vacancy and puts the seat on the November ballot.
If county commissioners do not vote in favor of the resolution recognizing the vacancy before the Friday deadline, the seat would not go on the November ballot and county commissioners would appoint someone to serve the remaining two years of Black’s term, Sharpe said.
“We are going to ask the Republicans to trust the people, not give the judgment to themselves,” County Commissioner Warren Mackey, D-Bluff View, said at the press conference. “If they give it to themselves, they are simply saying that they are the autocrats, that they know better than the people they represent.
“We are going to work with our colleagues to convince them to join with us and let the people determine who their representative on the school board is going to be.”
Gail Greene, chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last week that she hoped the Republican-majority commission would take up the vacancy after Friday’s deadline, thereby allowing Republicans to appoint someone to serve the two years left on Black’s term.
Greene said she would like to see commissioners appoint Republican Sherrie Ford, whom Black narrowly defeated in 2024.
“We are hopeful that the commission will work together to appoint a candidate who best represents the values we share,” Greene said.
Newly sworn-in Commissioner Montrell Besley, an Alton Park Democrat representing District 11, said a number of people have expressed interest in serving as the Democratic nominee for the seat.
“Nobody has really come out for sure,” he said, “but we know there’s some great candidates out here that will serve these next two years.”
Chris Anderson, a member of the Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee representing Hamilton County, said in an interview that state law clearly states the vacancy should be filled by an election.
Black’s resignation was submitted 73 days before the November election, so by law the position should be added to the ballot, he said.
“Refusing to declare it vacant tomorrow refuses to accept the reality that it is vacant,” Anderson said Tuesday. “To say that it’s not vacant is just a dereliction of duty.”
Contact business reporter Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.