Sun
May 5 2013
08:29 am
Kingston's Officals Un-elected Extended Terms
By: romanstone

Their terms should be coming to an end as they were only "elected" to 4-year terms back in 2009. With their own will and the help of the State they are getting bonus time - an extra year without the public's vote of trust. They tell us that this will help reduce future election cost by aligning the city election with other elections. This transition period of extending their own terms causes questions.

From the Charter -

Section 3.03. Elections for, and terms of, mayor and councilmen. Beginning with the regular November election to be held in November, 2014, and biennially thereafter, the Mayor and Councilmen shall be elected by the qualified voters of said city, at an election held biennially on the date of the general state election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years in accordance with the general election laws of the State of Tennessee. The term of office for the Mayor and all Councilmen shall be four (4) years, except as provided in Section 3.04 of this Charter. The Mayor and Councilmen shall serve during the term of office, or until their successors are elected and qualified. [as replaced by priv. acts 1987, ch. 77, sec. 1; priv. acts 1988, ch. 226; amended by priv. acts 1996, ch. 184, sec. 1; and replaced by Priv. Acts 2011, ch. 28, § 1]

Section 3.04. When terms begin. The terms of the Mayor and three (3) Councilmen elected for a term of four (4) years at the regular City election in June, 2009, shall be extended to serve a term that will expire on December 1, 2014. The terms of the three (3) City Council members elected for a term of four (4) years at the regular City election in June, 2011, shall be extended to serve a term that will expire on December 1, 2016. In each and every regular City election thereafter, the Council seats then becoming vacant shall be filled by Council members elected for terms of four (4) years. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 2011, ch. 28, § 2]

Don't live

Submitted by chelsea on May 5, 2013 - 10:05am.

Don't live in Kingston, therefore I can't vote there. But, like many elected bodies in Roane, and other counties there needs to be some mucking out. While I understand the money saving angle, a handful of people can do a lot of damage in one year.
Pinkerton's retirement was a start..I know that is contrary with what has been put forth in the local papers. People need to see what elected officials give the impression they are the king or queen and vote for somebody that has a true desire to serve not rule.

Special election

Submitted by betterbizbetty on May 5, 2013 - 3:04pm.

I would have preferred a special election to fill the additional 1-year plus several months, then 4 year terms from then on. Those extended to 2014 are Beets, Neal, McClure and White.

The State Attorney General

Submitted by romanstone on May 6, 2013 - 6:12am.

The State Attorney General needs to rule on this. The ethics of extending ones own term without a public vote may be a conflict of interest. The ruling would be advisable in order to prevent overturning "all" the Council's business during this self-extended period. This could become an issue if they try to pass something controversial or, for that matter, even their votes on the budget/tax rate. One little lawsuit could bring the city government to a standstill without a duly elected council and Mayor to make a quorum.

Cancelling an election in the USA

Submitted by onetahiti on May 6, 2013 - 6:47am.

If some third world country proposed putting off an election for a year, folks would cry foul.

I agree with Betterbizbetty.

-- OneTahiti

Thanks OneT! In any other

Submitted by betterbizbetty on May 6, 2013 - 8:16am.

Thanks OneT! In any other community this undemocratic power grab would be front page news. I beleive WATE and KNS are on it.

I hope that anyone who runs

Submitted by WhitesCreek on May 6, 2013 - 8:54am.

I hope that anyone who runs across the coverage will post the links.

Betterbizbetty

Submitted by onetahiti on May 6, 2013 - 12:30pm.

The proposed cancellation of an election is so shocking and un-American that one would think the story would be picked up all over.

-- OneTahiti

This was done in Harriman as

Submitted by WhitesCreek on May 7, 2013 - 5:37am.

This was done in Harriman as well, but I don't remember what the process was. It would seem that it had to be an act of the State Legislature, but I don't know.

Harriman

Submitted by romanstone on May 7, 2013 - 7:15am.

Senate Bill 3790 by Yager and House Bill 3858 by Hurley facilitated the power grab from the voters. There is a section that discusses if it's found to be invalid or unconstitutional. After State passage it allowed Harriman to vote on extending their own offices requiring 2/3 to pass.

As I said in the beginning of this tread - "With their own will and the help of the State they are getting bonus time - an extra year without the public's vote of trust." The State allowed them to vote on extending their own terms without the public's vote of trust. They were only elected to 4 years each. The City took this to the State on the front end and voted on it at the back end.

The point was the fact they are just about to start their un-elected extended terms. I still believe there needs to be a ruling to ensure this isn't invalid or unconstitutional, otherwise we could be left without functioning governing bodies or overturning their decisions during the extended period.

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