Circuit Court Judge: White brings family mediation experience
One candidate in this very important race brings a great deal of experience and expertise in family law and mediation.
The other candidate brings a great deal of civil litigation experience and a de facto governor's endorsement - given that Gov. Bill Haslam appointed him three and a half months ago to temporarily fill the seat of retired judge Neil Thomas in Hamilton County Circuit Court's division 4 courtroom until this special election is complete.
That means Catherine Cate White's extensive family law knowledge still has an uphill battle against Kyle E. Hedrick in the race to fill Thomas' unexpired term. And although Judge Thomas and other notable county Republicans have endorsed Hedrick or supported his campaign, we like White's family-friendly ideas.
More than 50 percent of the cases in this court are family cases, and White is a Rule 31 Supreme Court-approved family law mediator with 29 years of practicing law in Chattanooga.
Hedrick, as a 30-year career trial attorney, also has wonderful experience. To his credit, he has acknowledged - both to the Times Free Press and in his application for appointment - that he finds it hard to handle at least one aspect of family law.
To a question about whether he would uphold the law even if he disagreed with the substance of the law, he wrote:
"[A]s an attorney I was involved in terminating the parental rights of an indigent mother. While this was the correct decision under the law, it was devastating to the mother and haunted me for weeks. As a lawyer in private practice I have the right to decide not to take difficult cases such as this again, however, I realize that as a judge, one doesn't get to pick and choose the cases you hear and must be prepared to uphold the law in all instances. I am prepared to do that."
White, too, sees heartache in family law cases, and was responsible through the assistance of Chancellor Frank Brown for a local court rule requiring the exchange of assets and financial statements as well as proposed parenting plans before mediation begins, helping to lessen the traumatic legal time for families.
She now has more ideas. Seeing a trend of driving children into the middle of divorce brinksmanship, she wants a rule that automatically sends parents to free seminars aimed and helping them remember that they love their children more than they hate each other.
Register of Deeds: Marc Gravitt brings leadership experience
Tennessee State Rep. Marc Gravitt talks Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.Tennessee Rep. Marc Gravitt has been an East Ridge council member and a state lawmaker. In addition, he's a licensed Realtor, appraiser, auctioneer, small business owner and military veteran. Now he wants to be Hamilton County's register of deeds.
"I've seen it from the customer side," Gravitt said, noting that retiring register Pam Hurst has "done a fantastic job" in modernizing and streamlining the office both for government and the public. But one major issue he wants to assess with an eye toward possible change is the $50-a-month fee to lawyers, Realtors, title companies and some banks for online access to the digitized records.
"Hers is a fee-based office, but government is not here to make money off of citizens. I'm thinking maybe of cutting that fee in half. Making it $25 a month," he said. "But I want to take a minimum of six months to evaluate how the office is running before I make changes."
Gravitt's primary challenger, Randy G. Johnston, is more ruthless about the online fee, saying "I don't like it. I'd get rid of it altogether. I'd cut costs somewhere else."
Here's the thing: The Register of Deeds office has an annual budget of about $1 million with 16 employees responsible for filing and protecting not only the legal documents of deeds and mortgages, but also powers of attorney, land plats and military discharges. Under Hurst, the office has been a pioneer in the use of technology in register offices. That work is not a cheap proposition, yet the office returned more than $1 million to county coffers last year, and in previous years has returned more than $2 million.
Government may not be here to make money off of citizens, but neither is it free. We can bet that attorneys, title companies, surveyors and banks won't cut their fees to us if the county stops charging them $50 a month for anytime, online access to their tools of trade.
Johnston, too, has ample experience. Currently serving as director of residential property and priding himself for promoting customer service, he has worked in the Hamilton County Assessor's Office for 33 years, receiving promotions from three different assessors.
In early March, Hurst formally endorsed Gravitt, who says he will merge or sell his Gravitt Auctions & Appraisals if he wins the primary and the August general election against Democratic challenger Vickie Schroyer, a 35-year veteran of the Register's office.
County Mayor: Give Aloyse Brown your vote
Aloyse BrownIn the Democratic primary, Aloyse Brown is the only vote you should take.
She's a political newcomer, but a strong and heartfelt candidate with experience running a national, multimillion-dollar nonprofit group, the Church Pension Group. She and her husband, an Episcopal priest on Lookout Mountain, moved here five years ago from St. Louis, so she brings fresh and steady eyes to Hamilton County.
She sees herself as a natural leader and innovative thinker. She believes she has the ability help people connect and come together and be accountable.
"I have children and I'm worried about where their future stands right now. Our school system needs a lot of help. Our infrastructure is crumbling. We can't secure the schools from violence. There are still inequities in some schools. Our teacher salaries are 63rd in the state. We have a huge gap in early childhood education. [We're talking about a new jail] but I'm told that about 70 percent of the people in jail are awaiting trial And where else have you seen a 2018 county budget passed with no input?" she asks.
Brown's primary opponent, George Ryan Love, at an Orchard Knob candidate forum, said he makes $9.70 an hour, is disabled and lives in poverty in Avondale. He nobly wants to feed the homeless, house the poor and stand up against guns. The winner will face incumbent Mayor Jim Coppinger in the August general election.