Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
The redrawing of congressional and state legislative districts every 10 years can make and break political careers, providing new opportunities for some and placing brick walls in front of others.
But beyond an individual politicianâs future, the most significant impact of redistricting is the potential reshaping of political power in a state by packing or cracking districts for a particular advantage. We know this as âgerrymanderingâ and the ultimate goal of some politicians is to increase or decrease the number of Republicans or Democrats in Congress or statehouses.
There are other interests as well, such as keeping communities of interest together to preserve representation. For example, splitting a city or county when it could be kept together could be viewed as weakening that communityâs voice.
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The Knox County Commission is poised to take the first of two steps to narrow its options for placing public notices to a single publication run by a longtime Republican with close ties to local officials.
The change would limit the county to placing legally required public notices only in non-subscription based newspapers that are distributed locally. The notices are for items like upcoming public meetings, auction times, surplus property sales and solicitations for bids. It was lobbied for at last week s commission meeting by County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Commissioner Kyle Ward and unanimously advanced by the commission.
Clarksville NowChris SmithClarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council offices.
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The director of a local government agency was fired in Clarksville after complaints led to an internal investigation, and two weeks later, taxpayers are still in the dark about why.
The secrecy surrounding the investigation and the discussion of it could be in violation of Tennessee laws surrounding open meetings and public records. And one member of the Industrial Development Board has resigned in protest of the way the matter was handled.
Director’s firing
Frank Tate was terminated from his role as executive director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County IDB during an Economic Development Council meeting on April 28.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department released partial footage the day after the shooting but denied an open records request for the full footage from the scene, saying the investigation was still open.
In Tennessee, state law allows but does not require law enforcement agencies to keep records confidential if they are related to an ongoing investigation.
Body camera footage from previous police shootings was released while investigations were still active. Footage from a March shootout that left a woman dead and an officer wounded was released within a week. Footage from a non-fatal police shooting of a woman threatening suicide and wielding a pick ax in March was also released within a week.