photo by Claire Henley Miller
photo by Claire Henley Miller
The candidates running for Hamilton County Criminal Court judge and Hamilton County assessor of property emphasized Thursday their experience in, qualifications for, and expectations of the jobs.
With early voting starting Feb. 10, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a morning forum at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant on W. Aquarium Way. Dave Flessner, business editor for the Times Free Press, umpired the public discussion. Over the span of an hour he asked a series of questions to both sets of candidates to illuminate their thoughts on certain issues.
The candidates for Criminal Court Judge, Division 2 spoke first. In the running are Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz, prosecutor Boyd Patterson, and assistant public defender Mike Little.
Judge Greenholtz, now in his fifth month as Criminal Court judge, stated Chattanooga has been cited as one of the most dangerous cities in Tennessee. He said he took the crime rate seriously and was “committed to ending this revolving door” of crime.
He believes many crimes in the city – like theft and vandalism – result from drug addiction. One solution he offered was Drug Court – the program designed to give a defendant addicted to drugs a chance to sober up and not go to jail.
“It’s a program that fundamentally changes lives,” Judge Greenholtz said, acknowledging 93 percent of people who graduated from the program stayed out of court.
Which is a good thing for the judge because “sentencing is the toughest thing (he does).” He said he must know why he is sentencing before he decides how to sentence. He gave the example of a first time offender. If that person is a good person, he said, it would likely be unwise to send him or her to prison, as it could make matters worse.
Then again, he said if he is dealing with a reoffender, putting that person in prison for “a while” might be the best thing to keep the public safe.
But Judge Greenholtz wants to keep the reoffender cycle from starting. Pairing offenders up with mentors, or sentencing them to specialty courts like Drug Court and Veterans Court are possible ways to ensure this, he said.
As a prosecutor for the last 12 years, attorney Patterson understands criminal motive and believes his experience has been the “best teacher” to qualify him as judge.
Having worked thousands of cases, he believes the root cause of crime partially stems from illiteracy. Lack of education and job training, he said, also result in crime. He stated young males make up the majority of offenders. Therefore, his solution to cut crime off at its roots is to “bombard” the males with opportunities to learn, earn, and engage in positive social settings outside of crime.
A judge must know the law and use discretion when sentencing someone, he said. Because a prison sentence would not suit every offender, attorney Patterson stressed judges must know how to dish out punishment depending on the crime and motives of the defendant.
Regarding reoffenders, he said 15 to 20 percent of criminals committed approximately 60 percent of crimes. And because repeat offenders often followed a leader, when law enforcement brought in the “head of the snake,” attorney Patterson said he would “cut it off.”
Attorney Little agreed lack of education resulted in crime, but also lack of upbringing. Parental supervision and spiritual guidance, he believes, play a big role in keeping people out of Criminal Court.
He discussed alternate sentences to prison – like probation, Drug Court, and community corrections. But, he said, the law ultimately mandated a sentence.
Attorney Little grew up in poverty and worked his way through law school. As a defense attorney, he did not cater to the wealthy. When representing a defendant, he needed to “step in the prosecutor’s shoes” to see both sides. He spent the last 25 years in criminal law and believes this time prepared him for the position as Criminal Court judge.
“I want this community safe, and as judge I will do that,” he said.
The three GOP candidates for assessor of property took the stage after the Criminal Court Judge candidates stepped down. Sterling Jetton, Commissioner Marty Haynes, and Randy Johnston make up the Republican candidates for the county position that sets the appraised value on Hamilton County property.
Whoever is nominated will run against Mark Siedlecki of the Democratic Party.
Commissioner Haynes has worked in private business for 35 years. He plans to bring his business experience to the office by offering quick and simple solutions to save taxpayers dollars. One solution is having a competent staff. Commissioner Haynes, who has experience in hiring, said he would work with his staff to guarantee they properly appraised properties.
If elected, this would be Commissioner Haynes’ fulltime professional endeavor. He said it would mark a career change for him – one he is highly capable of because of his background in business. He mentioned Bill Bennett, who recently announced his retirement after holding the property assessor seat since 1994. Mr. Bennett has private business experience and served on the County Commission, too, Commissioner Haynes said.
Randy Johnston, who has worked in the assessor of property’s office for 31 years, said this was a tough job where one benefited from "knowing the field." He started out as an appraiser and has since worked his way up to residential property supervisor. For over 20 years he has also owned a small successful business.
He said appraisal values affected taxes, which could upset residents. But, he said, anyone who ever came in irate left happy after speaking with Mr. Johnston.
He pushed for transparency by offering more online information. This would result in more people calling less about their appraisals, he said. He targeted accessibility as another key factor to let people know what was going on.
"You’ll have my cell phone number," he addressed the public. "I have nothing to hide, nothing to run from."
With his experience in business and in the property assessor’s office, he believes he is the best candidate.
"I can do this job. I love this job. I don’t dread going in," he said.
Rev. Jetton, the senior pastor at Shelter Church and longtime employee of the assessor of property, learned leadership skills when he served in the Army. As property assessor, he plans to cross-train employees to increase their overall knowhow and skills.
On the topic of the appraisal process, he said “location, location, location absolutely affects the value of property.” He wants people to be able to go online and check out their property value.
He also wants to install GPS devices in each appraiser’s vehicle. We all get lazy, he said. He thinks the GPS devices would increase safety, fuel efficiency, and time management.