In losing, Kim White also challenged 181 years of history

Yes, in Tuesday’s mayoral runoff, Tim Kelly won.

But why did Kim White lose?

On paper, she seemed electable. Born to teenage parents, she rode the school bus until she graduated, worked three jobs, qualified for housing assistance, cold-called her way into the realms of power before taking over River City Co., where she guided

$1.2 billion in investments into our downtown.

“I’ve struggled,” she said during a recent NAACP interview, “but I’ve had to be tough to be at the table.”

Arguably, White was among the top three most powerful women in the city. Was Kelly even in the top 10? And she lost?

Sure, she was lacking. White never seemed able to meaningfully discuss racism or whiteness. Never seemed to address the shadow side of gentrifying development, the Black exodus from downtown, our tourist industry built on service wages.

She didn’t have political experience.

Neither does Kelly. Was she not progressive enough? Chattanooga keeps leaning left; White, endorsed by the Free Press, was the more conservative candidate.

Maybe she angered some with the Business Improvement District; maybe others worried she was too downtown-focused.

Maybe Kelly represented a new approach, built not on a good-ole-boy network — he put $1 million of his own money into his campaign — but something less beholden.

Maybe Kelly was simply the better candidate: more visionary, appealing, inviting.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been wondering: Was White in the wrong race?

Picture this: Kim White, mayor of … Hamilton County.

In May 2022, White could primary incumbent mayor Jim Coppinger, who — save Aloyse Brown’s worthwhile attempt in 2018 — has yet to be challenged.

Coppinger’s been mayor for the past decade. Will he run again? Could a White campaign inject some lifeblood in county democracy?

It’s a daydream, of course; nobody — although they should — will primary Coppinger, and even if White did, could she win?

Here, my daydream bursts. White, who wasn’t progressive enough to win City Hall, wouldn’t be conservative or far-right enough to win the county.

She’d have to shapeshift — more to the right, Kim — and I wonder, humbly and painfully, if she’s been shapeshifting this whole time.

Take a look at incoming Mayor Kelly, especially his tears and beers.

He cried a bit back in March, after winning enough votes to force a runoff. Good. His masculinity is not beefed up. He can be vulnerable.

Could White?

Could White cry publicly without losing political power? Can a political woman be vulnerable?

“As a female, I’ve had people say, ‘I can’t identify with you. Because you seem to have it all together. You’re too tough. You’re not vulnerable enough,’” White admitted during the NAACP interview.

This is the trap of the public woman.

Too tough and you’re a witch.

Too emotional and you’re hysterical.

Too smart and you’re threatening.

On election night, as he finished his acceptance speech, Kelly called to a staffer: “Make sure there’s a beer ready. I’m gonna want a beer.”

Could White shout out for a beer? Or should it be a white wine spritzer?

Would we back-slap Kelly yet scrutinize White?

Since 1840, Chattanooga has only elected white men as city mayor. That’s 181 years of the same type of power.

Maybe White lost because she was a woman.

Maybe our city still can’t picture a woman as its most powerful leader.

“That’s exactly the problem,” said one friend. “A woman with the same branding doesn’t exist because the Chattanooga branding has been defined by white males.”

Every candidate who isn’t a white male must run two campaigns: the overt one and the subtle one, which tries to convince the electorate subconscious that being Black or brown or female or gay are also acceptable forms of power and leadership.

Thankfully, there are signs of a shift.

In 2016, only one woman sat on the city council. (Only two women currently sit on the county commission.)

Now, four of nine council members are female.

Many of our top positions of power — River City, foundations, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce — are held by women.

Even though she lost, White, like Ann Coulter and Brown before her, did something historic.

“Although we still do not have a female mayor, I think it’s fantastic that Kim ran,” my friend continued. “Her run helps to normalize and inspire women to run for office. Hopefully next time, the best candidate will be the woman and we will break that damn glass ceiling in this city.”