Written by: Hayden Kobza
On Nov. 25, incumbent Debbie Baker was re-elected to the Collegedale Commission after a 5-0 vote by the Board of Commissioners, with Baker voting herself back in, breaking a tie with Billy Burnette, according to a Collegedale Special Commission meeting minutes.
Her new term comes after the Nov. 5 Board of Commissioners race in Collegedale, which resulted in a tie between Baker and Burnette. Burnette has unsuccessfully run before, according to the Hamilton County elections website.
Because the unofficial election results showed Burnette winning the race by one vote, the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Accent initially announced Burnette’s victory.
However, once the election closed, the official vote count was a tie because, according to Baker, provisional votes had not yet been accounted for during Election Night.
Baker explained the Hamilton County Election Commission told her the city could do a runoff race to break the tie, but it would not be held until March.
“It would [have] cost the taxpayers $16,000 to $20,000 to do that,” Baker said. The alternative was to hold an internal vote amongst the commissioners.
As outlined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-8-111, in case of a tie, the municipal legislative body—usually the city council—can either cast the deciding vote or call for a runoff election by resolution.
“I abstained from making that decision on whether they had a runoff or they did an appointment,” Baker said. “There have only been two other times in the history of the state of Tennessee it was a tie, and each time it was done by the Commission to pick who they wanted.”
In an interview with WTVC News Channel 9, Burnett showed disdain for the city’s decision. “Historically, that board has not listened to the public, the citizens, and that’s what they’ve done in the past,” Burnette said.
In response, Baker said to Channel 9 that political maneuvering often involves tough decisions. “When you’re on those crossroads, you’re going to do what you can to get over to the side that you want to be on, and that’s just part of politics,” Baker said.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, City Attorney Sam Elliott confirmed that, under state law, the city of Collegedale had the option to decide the election through a vote, or call for a special election by resolution.
Now that Baker has secured her position on the city’s commission, she said that the people of Collegedale are first on her agenda.
“Priorities are what has always been [for me] the people, the citizens, not just a few, but all,” Baker said. “I want to keep our economic growth, but I want to really concentrate on expanding our parks, keeping it family friendly. … I want to focus on keeping our taxes down, building our infrastructure [up] and meeting what the needs of the people are.”
