Wamp Outlines Priorities as He Begins Term

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — The elections and fanfare are now over, and Weston Wamp is on the job as Hamilton County’s Mayor.

After being sworn in, Wamp hinted at his agenda for the beginning of his term, placing the emphasis on education.

“We’re going to step alongside Justin Robertson, our relatively new school superintendent, and begin to lay out a very aggressive, ambitious agenda for public education, developing our workforce, and eventually economic development all takes care of itself. And, frankly, violent crime reduces as you lift young people up into productive lives and careers,” said Wamp.

Wamp has expressed particular interest in vocational education.

He says he wants to allows high school students to take on apprenticeships and participate in the workforce before they obtain their diplomas.

“Career development, workforce development, preparing our young people, not just to be able to take a test, not just for college, but to be productive citizens — that’s what we’re focused on,” said Wamp.

Wamp is making a point to underscore the problems he perceives with Hamilton County’s Schools and institutions.

He believes not enough attention has been given to issues such as dilapidated school facilities.

“Violent crime torments many of our neighborhoods. Public education is stuck, in many part of our county, in perpetual mediocrity. Our school facilities are failing. We’ve under invested in coaches and athletic facilities. And so we know what our challenges are — we’ve got to talk about them,” said Wamp.

To address these concerns, Wamp said he intends to implement policies that may be unpopular, but that he believes are in the best interest of the county in the long-term.