Councilman Ken Smith appointed interim District 3 commissioner

Ken Smith is now representing the Hixson area on the Chattanooga City Council as well as the Hamilton County Commission, as commissioners voted 7-1 Wednesday to appoint Smith to serve on an interim basis representing District 3.

Smith has served as District 3 Chattanooga City Councilman since 2013 and was chairman of that body from 2018-19 and vice chairman from 2020-22.

“[Smith] already serves this community and served this community for … several years now and probably serves like 70% of this area that he will be representing now,” Commissioner Randy Fairbanks, of Soddy-Daisy, said when nominating Smith to fill the seat of former Commissioner Greg Martin.

District 3 includes portions of areas such as northern Chattanooga, Middle Valley, Lakesite and Hixson.

Martin was appointed to fill a Tennessee House seat left vacant by resignation, until a new lawmaker is elected Nov. 8. Martin resigned from the commission effective March 30.

Commissioner Tim Boyd, of East Ridge, voted to appoint businessman Charlie Hunt to the District 3 seat.

“He has served on countless boards, done a lot of philanthropic work that this community has no knowledge of, and he really knows the heartbeat in District 1 and District 3,” Boyd said when nominating Hunt. “The north part of this county is, it’s his bread and butter.”

Smith will serve on the commission until the results of the August 2022 county general election are certified.

He told the commission that in August he plans to seek either reappointment to the county commission seat or selection by caucus to be on the November ballot. Smith said if chosen he would resign as a city councilman at that time.

Martin is the only candidate qualified to run for the District 3 seat in the August county general election. He remains on the ballot, and there is no law prohibiting him from serving on both bodies, county attorney Rheubin Taylor said in response to a question from Commissioner Warren Mackey.

Martin replaced former state Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, who resigned after pleading guilty to honest services wire fraud in a kickback scheme that remains under federal investigation.