Paul Smith said Saturday he will not seek a new term as chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.
Mr. Smith said, "When I was first elected by acclamation as chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, I made the statement on the record that I would not run for any future position or accept any political appointments. Today, I am keeping that pledge by reiterating that I will not run again for chairman of the Democratic Party. I have enjoyed the opportunity to represent Democrats in Hamilton County and I am proud of our achievements.
We met our goals, completed tasks, modernized the party and enhanced communication.
"In addition, we unified labor, which has been very supportive, and we had the most successful Kefauver Dinner ever. The goal of the party chair is to elect Democrats and I am pleased that we had candidates in every race. We contributed to the support and election of President Obama and JoAnn Favors in the House of Representatives and now pledge our full support to Andy Berke to be mayor of Chattanooga, which will be a great victory to the Democratic Party and Labor.
"There is a tremendous amount of work yet to be done. I hope that my replacement will be a strong Democrat, someone who will continue to build the party and carry the fight to move ahead and win elections. The party reorganization process will take place in April.
"I want to thank everyone for their support and wish the new officers every success."