Hamilton County GOP preparing to elect new chair
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Local Republicans are beginning to discuss what’s next for their party following sweeping victories in November.
That includes the selection of a new chair of the Hamilton County GOP.
The current chairman, Mark Harrison, is not seeking re-election.
The two candidates vying for the top spot of the Hamilton County Republican Party are former Sheriff Jim Hammond and Gail Greene.
Greene is the head of the Activate Hamilton organization.
Launched last month, they bill themselves as a grassroots campaign against what they view as an establishment in the Hamilton County GOP.
Greene says her number one is transparency in the party.
“I know there are people in Hamilton County who are good, faithful Republicans who do not believe they have a seat at the table right now… I have been frustrated in the past that there have been, it seems to be that there are a lot of political insiders making a lot of the decisions within the party behind closed doors,” she said.
She is with running with the following slate of candidates from Activate Hamilton:
- Gail Greene: Chair
- Dan Meehan: Vice Chair
- Anne Lowery: Secretary
- Kimberly Fiorello: Treasurer
- Tonya Miller: Vice Treasurer
Greene says of their collective mission from her view, “I would be transparent, and that the grassroots would be involved, and when I mean the people, and the people’s voice.”
Former Sheriff Jim Hammond is Greene’s opponent in the chair race.
He served as Hamilton County’s Sheriff for nearly 30 years, and says he understands the concerns raised by Activate Hamilton.
Hammond said, “When I’ve heard (Greene) speak, she feels that there’s not been enough attention to the younger generation and I would agree that there needs to be more transparency in terms of reaching out to the younger generation of Democrats and Republicans.”
He highlighted his experience as key to how he’d handle this role.
“I’ve built friendships among what I sometimes say are the up and outers and the down and outers. I’ve worked with prisoners, I’ve worked with criminals, getting them straightened out. I’ve worked with juveniles as a probationary officer. I just like working with people,” said Hammond.
Both say now is the time to get to work as a party.
Greene emphasized, “It shouldn’t be Republicans vs. Republicans, it shouldn’t be establishment vs. the grassroots, we are in a battle against the Democrats.”
Hammond said, “I’m going to focus on how do we mentor the people who are very active in the party, and how do we manage the ones who want to get involved in the party?”
The next chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party will be elected at Hixson Middle School, next Saturday, March 1.
