GOVERNOR WON’T HAVE TO ENDORSE
AN EASY OUT
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it “an obligation,” but whatever way he chooses to describe it, his new position as chair of the Republican Governors Association allows him the freedom not to endorse anyone for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
He told Politico he has “a responsibility not to endorse, and primarily because my responsibility is to stay very focused on getting governors elected.” Instead, he told the publication that any Republican candidates currently running for president “would bring that recognition of fundamentals back to the office and people would be better off than they are today.”
In addition to former President Donald Trump, several of the top contenders for the nomination are or have been Republican governors, including current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Lee further said he has “an obligation not to endorse,” but said he and other governors weren’t afraid of social media swats by Trump for not doing so.
“I just have my own personality,” he said. “I have my own set of beliefs that inform how I govern and how I lead and what I say publicly and how I communicate with people. … I don’t think people are afraid as much as they are just making decisions for themselves that they think are in the best interest of their own career and their own constituents.”
CITY HALL’S REVOLVING DOOR
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly had had three chiefs of staff since becoming the city’s chief executive in April 2021: Brent Goldberg, Joda Thongnopnua and Jermaine Freeman.
We would guess the $150,000 post must be a good springboard for higher employment since both Goldberg and Thongnopnua took steps up when they left the job.
Goldberg became the city’s chief financial officer for a year before leaving to become vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Thongnopnua became a program director with the National Science Foundation’s new technology, innovation and partnerships directorate.
Freeman, the city’s official chief of staff as of this month, has been the interim chief since Thongnopnua left in April. He has had a number of roles in city government, including economic development officer under former Mayor Andy Berke and senior adviser for economic opportunity to Kelly.
CAN’T IT WAIT?
We’ve all seen it — the driver next to you in traffic who is looking at his phone or texting.
Beginning Jan. 1, citations for distracted driving in Tennessee will increase. And it hits young drivers — those under the age of 18, thought to be the worst offenders — even harder.
Drivers under the age of 18 with a second offense will get seven points added to their license, enough for it to be suspended up to a year. Drivers 18 and older will get four points for a first or second offense and five for a third offense, and could face a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $50.
“You’re seen with your phone in your hand or talking, holding your phone up to your face, talking with your phone, you can be pulled over just for that,” Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Matt Blankenship told WCYB-TV. “You don’t have to be pulled over for something else, it’s not secondary; it’s a primary offense.”
The THP officer said the problem has become so widespread that officers at his branch of the agency have written 75 distracted driving citations in their 14-county district in less than a month.
WHO DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING?
To no one’s surprise, the latest study by Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications reported that only 3.4% of American journalists identify as Republicans. Over the past 10 years, that number has been cut in half as the proportion of those who identify as Democrats increased to 36.4% and the number of independents to 51.7%.
We appreciate that the owners of this newspaper, Little Rock, Ark.-based WEHCO Media, valued the diversity of opinion in Chattanooga so much that they kept the opinion pages of both the conservative Chattanooga Free Press and liberal Chattanooga Times when the newspapers merged in 1999.
The Newhouse study that dates back more than 50 years found that in 2013, 7.1% of journalists identified as Republicans, 28.1% as Democrats and 50.2% as independents. In 2002, 18% identified as Republicans (35.9% Democrats), and in 1971 25.7% said they were Republicans (35.5% Democrats).
We suspect a majority of those in the most recent study who identified as independents might be Democrats but did not want to look partisan by revealing their true loyalty.
In October, a Gallup poll found that only 32% of Americans say they trust the mass media “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to report the news in a full, fair and accurate way, tying a historic low set in 2016.