A survivor of the recent recall effort that has racked Chattanooga City Hall said Wednesday that he stands by his decision to stand up to Tea Party members and other city government critics who he said demand that every politician meekly obey all their demands.
Longtime City Councilman Jack Benson – speaking to members of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club – said the plain fact of the matter is that recall leaders did not bother to check out their facts before taking public positions.
Further, the feisty councilman said, politicians who blindly follow the wishes of the majority – regardless of the consequences – need to realize that there is more at stake than whether they will be voted back into office.
“Actions have consequences . . . That’s what got Jesus killed,” he told the Rotarians, many of whom nodded vigorously in agreement. “When the crowd was asked whether Jesus should be set free, they said ‘no, free Barabbas.’ And the politician obeyed their demand.”
Councilman Benson was one of three targets of a recall effort spearheaded by four groups: Chattanooga Organized for Action, Chattanooga Tea Party, Citizens to Recall Mayor Littlefield and anti-abortion activists headed by Charles Wysong.
While Mayor Ron Littlefield was the primary target of the ouster effort, Councilmen Benson and Manny Rico were added to the list because they supported the tax increase.
The recall effort was flawed in many respects, Councilman Benson told Rotary members, including the fact that many of its leaders "did not bother to do their homework" on the issues on which they took adamant stands.
For example, he said, one Tea Party leader recently stood at a public meeting and praised the four members of the City Council who voted against the recently approved tax increase.
“That man did not know what he was talking about,” Councilman Benson said flatly. “If he had checked into it a little, he would have found out that three of the four who voted against the increase did it because they did not think it was high enough.”
Even the sole member of the council who stood staunchly against raising taxes has not been consistent in her positions, he told Rotarians. During one recent council meeting, for example, that member was loud in her insistence that more fire hydrants be installed despite the prohibitive cost of doing so, he said.
“I finally had to turn to her and say, ‘Look, you said you didn’t want any tax increase no matter what cuts it meant – and now you’re the one hollering the loudest to spend more money.’ ”