TIM KELLY SEEKS CITY HALL CONSISTENCY
Only halfway through his first term, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly says he’s ready for his second.
“I’m seeking a second and final term so we can complete this work and see it through,” Kelly said Thursday. “We know it’s working and that a brighter future lies ahead. We are fixing the broken things, and the best is yet to come. I’m asking for your support and for you to join me so that together we can help Chattanooga realize its full potential as the best city in Tennessee and the best city in America.”
In many ways, Chattanooga is on the upswing: a businessfriendly environment, low unemployment, quality of life that is the envy of many other cities and a renewed focus on those “broken things” in the city — income inequality, lack of affordable housing and infrastructure that can put a halt to progress.
Under Kelly’s administration, progress is being made — or the groundwork is being laid for progress. According to Kelly’s administration, nearly 3,000 unsheltered people have been housed; more than 600 new affordable homes have been created, and nearly 300 Chattanoogans have avoided eviction thanks to the Hamilton County Eviction Prevention Initiative.
These early accomplishments are positive, but they tell a story only two years in the making.
Kelly says he is committed to a second term and seeing his ambitious goals through. Stable leadership will be needed if he is to succeed.
There are lessons to be learned in another Tennessee city where leadership has been inconsistent.
LEARN FROM NASHVILLE’S INSTABILITY
The honky tonk city on the hill, known as Nashville, is touted as Tennessee’s shiny toy, a main attraction for tourists looking for a good time in the Volunteer State.
But in the past five years, Nashville will have seen four changes in mayoral leadership. In 2018 Mayor Megan Barry resigned after a scandal was uncovered involving her and a member of her security detail. An audit showed the bodyguard, a government employee, was on the clock while involved in a personal relationship with Barry. The two were charged with theft and had to pay back $56,000.
After Barry’s resignation, then-Vice Mayor David Briley was appointed to the job. He won a special election in the same year to keep the position.
But in 2019, he was defeated by John Cooper, brother of longtime U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper. Cooper shocked many in the Nashville community when he decided earlier this year not to run for re-election.
Now Metro Nashville residents will choose its fourth mayor in a runoff election between former Metro Councilman Freddie O’Connell and Alice Rolli, a former political strategist for Gov. Bill Haslam. Election Day is Thursday, Sept. 14.
The winner will be given the keys to a city facing several divisive issues, including an affordable housing crisis, a wide pay gap disparity, commercial and residential growth, inadequate roads and public transportation options, among other issues. Sound familiar?
There might be abundant growth taking place in Music City, but the mayoral turnover has thwarted good planning to deal with issues residents care most about. Nashville’s issues have been piling up.
The city’s next mayor will have their hands full with municipal problems — and don’t forget that Nashville is at loggerheads with the Tennessee General Assembly.
In contrast, Chattanooga has a mayor who says he is committed to the long haul. And he thinks he has a message to convince residents to come along.
SECOND TERM CONSISTENCY
Of course, voters could decide in 2025 to elect a new city leader, but Kelly is posturing himself as someone who is invested in the city and is committed to the goals he’s set out, such as the One Chattanooga and Climate Action plans.
A roadblock for Kelly will be if he is ineffective in selling those plans and sharing exactly how the plans will be carried out.
The One Chattanooga Plan is a project that seeks to create equitable development for under-served communities. While commendable, many “equity-based” initiatives often turn into broad wish lists that never materialize.
The Climate Action plan, which hopes to make Chattanooga a more sustainable and eco-friendly city, has been criticized recently by the community group Save Chattanooga. The grassroots organization has called for a ballot measure to undo the plan.
Kelly’s vision for Chattanooga is forward-thinking. And by announcing early, he’s warned potential competitors to stand down.
He will need all of the community to buy into his plan — and that means ramping up community hearings about the vision and speaking directly and plainly about what the plans are and how they will be implemented.
We’ll see if time will be on his side.