Hendersonville Standard
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Committee rules commissioners did not violate ethics policy





Brian Stewart

Brian Stewart

Three Sumner County commissioners did not violate the county’s ethics policy by posing with school principals on school property and using the photos in campaign materials, a county ethics committee ruled on July 20.

Hendersonville resident Mike Conner filed a complaint on April 5 alleging photos posted on social media and in campaign materials by District 7 Commissioners Gene Rhodes and Brian Stewart and District 10 Commissioner Paul Goode violated School Board policy 1.806 as well as a state statute known as the “Little Hatch Act.”

School Board policy 1.806 states that, “No part of the school system, including the facilities, the name, the staff, and the students, shall be used for advertising or promoting the interests of any commercial, political or other non-school agency or organization.”

The policy goes on to state that, “Political signs for people who are running for public office shall not be allowed on school property except on election day.”

Gene Rhodes

Gene Rhodes

Conner submitted screen shots from social media of the three commissioners posing with school principals on school property and holding their campaign signs ahead of the May 3 Republican primary. All three commissioners lost their seats to challengers on May 3.

Conner also alleged in his complaint that the commissioners may have violated the “Little Hatch Act,” a state statute, by “coercing teachers to take pictures with them on school property.” The “Little Hatch Act” prohibits school employees from engaging in political campaigns during school hours.

The county’s ethics committee was appointed in May to hear the complaint and included Commissioners Caroline Krueger, Scott Langford and Larry Hinton; Sumner County Circuit Court Clerk Kathryn Strong and James Ramsey, a Sumner County citizen.

Members voted in June to elect Strong as its chair and to require Conner to submit three separate complaints charging each commissioner individually by July 7.

Paul Goode

Paul Goode

At its meeting on July 20, committee members pointed to the county’s ethics policy adopted in 2007.

The policy specifically addresses the disclosure of personal interests in voting and non-voting matters and the acceptance of gifts or favors.

“I don’t see anything actionable as an ethics complaint,” said Langford, who is also the chief academic officer for Sumner County Schools. “There’s nothing in the complaint that indicates there was a favor.”

Strong noted that a large portion of Conner’s complaint dealt with the alleged violation of a School Board policy.

“We don’t have the authority to address that,” she said.

The committee voted to take each complaint at face value, and did not call any witnesses. The three commissioners named in the complaint weren’t at the meeting.

Ramsey, the only citizen on the board said he wished those photographed had come to “let us know if they felt coerced.”

The committee had the option of referring the matter to the county attorney for a legal opinion and/or recommendations for action; referring the matter to the county commission for possible public censure; referring the matter to the district attorney if a violation of state law was believed to have occurred, or finding that no violation had occurred and recommending no further action.

In less than 30 minutes, they voted unanimously on the latter in all three cases.

After the meeting, Conner tried to clarify whether or not campaigning on school property was allowed.

“So candidates are allowed to take pictures on school property when campaigning… even though it’s against school board policy?” he asked.

County Attorney Leah May Dennen disagreed.

“This is this set of facts,” she said. “They are not making a rule change to anything.”

The county ethics committee has no jurisdiction over School Board policy, Dennen added.

Conner’s attorney, Kirk Clements, said he was disappointed that the committee failed to conduct any kind of investigation in the matter.

“The pictures revealed commissioners taking pictures with school officials on school property and while still in uniform. From an objective perspective, this raises a question whether the teacher was still on duty, which could be a violation of ‘The Little Hatch Act,’ he said. “What occurred at the meeting was not an investigation; it was tantamount to what is happening with the Jan. 6th Committee: a political show with a pre-determined end.”

Clements said he also thought the ethics committee should have considered whether or not the commissioners violated School Board policy.

“School policy strictly prohibits campaign materials on school property,” he said. “The fact commissioners used their position of power in advancement of their own political gain in violation of school [board] policy is unethical in my opinion.”

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