NAACP Takes Stance Against City Council Vote

After serving District 8 for five years, Anthony Byrd is stepping down from the City Council to become the City Court Clerk.

The City Council voted on Tuesday to vacate his seat and appoint a replacement upon acceptance of his resignation.

But the NAACP has expressed concern over the the council’s decision not to advise his appointed successor against running in the general election.

News 12 attempted to contact the Chattanooga chapter of the NAACP but did not receive a response.

The civil rights group’s concerns are shared by Chairman Chip Henderson.

“I know that if I were running for that seat, I would certainly want to be appointed to that seat, because, whether actual or real, there is a perceived advantage,” said Henderson.

There are no laws restricting an appointed council member from running in a public election.

But, in the past, appointees have made commitments not to do so.

“They came up with a process of asking the person that wanted to fill the seat until the election to make a public commitment not to run for the elected position.”

While some are in favor of a public commitment and some are not, Anthony Byrd feels that the most important issue is effective representation for District 8.

“They’re trying to do the best thing to make sure that District 8 gets the best representation. I think that whatever which way they go, whichever way is put out there, that the council is always trying to do right for the community,” said Byrd.

Byrd’s resignation will be accepted next Tuesday.