City Councilman Larry Grohn said an attack ad sent out by Councilman Chris Anderson is libelous.
He said, "Chattanooga politics to a new low with his smear campaign mailer sent out last week to his district seven constituents. In a desperate attempt to win re-election Anderson put forth outright malicious lies in an effort to smear Mr. Oglesby and somehow try to link his opponent to me. This is yet another example of why any conscientious and thoughtful voter in district seven should reject Mr.
Anderson outright. Anderson’s behavior is, putting it mildly, unbecoming of a public official and clearly demonstrates how he thinks and operates.
"I take personal offense for Mr. Anderson for dragging me into his runoff campaign with the malicious statments put forth about me on his mailer which he knows are untrue. First, I have not “propped up“ Mr. Oglesby’s campaign because I have not contributed nor supported Mr. Oglesby’s campaign in any way.
"Let’s look at Mr. Anderson’s other libelous statements:
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There has been no discussion by city council concerning minimum wage because a 2013 Tennessee state law prohibits municipalities from raising the minimum wage above the federal baseline. I do support the city increasing the wages of the workers the city employs through the Federal Head-Start program. Something the mayor and the current council members refused to do during budget talks the past two years.
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I have supported the great majority of the affordable housing projects brought before the council, actually arguing the projects “are not truly affordable but rather workforce housing.”
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It is in the public record from my recent election campaign that I placed great emphasis on affordable housing for low to middle class families. I arguably put forth an affordable housing program which was more robust than that of the newly re-elected mayor.
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Finally, I completely supported the zoning ordinance which restricted the ability of “pay day lenders” to expand in the city.
"Councilman Anderson’s statements are an affront to me and defames my character. The councilman might be able to demonstrate a shred of decency by publishing a retraction of the libelous statements published about me in his campaign mailer. He could make this statement in the Chattanoogan, the Times Free Press, Chattanooga Chronicle and make a public statement to the city’s local media outlets."