Challengers target Berke in mayoral debate

The three candidates running against incumbent Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke attacked the mayor for failing to keep his promises, in a debate Monday evening.

Berke drew the most criticism for his anti-crime programs, and in particular his Violence Reduction Initiative (VRI), which targeted gang members and others involved in shootings for special police attention.

“We were promised when VRI was initiated that violent crime would decrease significantly in the next year,” 4th District City Councilman Larry Grohn said. “What we have seen is a continuation of what we have had before.”

“We need to start policing and solving crimes,” said architectural consultant and developer Chris Long. He said the city did not need more police officers, but rather should have more minority officers, a police chief who was promoted from within the ranks and not brought in from outside, and jobs growth “so people will have some hope.”

Former council member David Crockett attacked the VRI as a “social experiment” and agreed with Grohn and Long that long-term, the only way to reduce crime is to have more jobs and community development.

Berke responded that property crimes and overall violent crimes have decreased during his four years in office, but conceded that gun violence had increased. He said new city initiatives including a real-time intelligence center that aims to get information on recent crimes out to officers in the field as fast as possible will help. “We didn’t get into this situation overnight, and we won’t get out of it overnight,” he said.

A question about bike lanes from debate moderator Dave Flessner, business editor at the Times-Free Press, drew dismissive responses from all of Berke’s challengers. Long said the city needs to focus on paving roads and not building bike lanes, and then pivoted to his main campaign issue, arguing excessive and expensive regulations for handling stormwater runoff are stifling development and preventing the city from raising more revenue to pay for road improvements.

Grohn agreed, promising to double the amount of money spent on roads and to spread the funding around to all parts of the city. Crockett said he liked the idea of bike lanes, but thought they had been poorly implemented on Broad Street and in other areas.

Berke did not defend the bike lanes directly, but said Chattanooga’s image as a city with a high quality of life was important to its success. He said the city had doubled the money it spent on paving roads since he took office four years ago.

Berke, Grohn and Long all pledged not to raise taxes. Crockett declined to do so, saying he could not predict whether a poor economy would make that a necessity. But he attacked the current system, which he said results in Chattanooga residents paying money to the county, which is then used to fund road improvements for people outside the city. He also touted his plan to dramatically increase the number of flights at Chattanooga’s airport as a way to attract more businesses. Crockett has proposed a highspeed rail line from the airport to north Atlanta to draw travelers away from that city’s congested airport.

All three challengers said Berke had failed on his promise to build more affordable housing. Berke defended his record, saying the city had built or preserved 1,000 housing units at a time when federal funding had dried up significantly.

The debate was hosted by Cindy’s Choice and Eastgate Town Center.