Tennessee
When former Mayor Ron Littlefield sought a property tax increase in the summer of 2010, it triggered an alliance between Chattanooga conservatives and liberals that nearly cost him his job and cast “a pall over the day-to-day operations of the city.”
Littlefield recently pointed to a video, Recall Fever, produced by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, on the rise of recalls across the country. In it, he said he had never experienced a campaign that bypasses traditional outlets to get a political message out. And he affirmed his belief that the ballot box is the best place for voters to express their disapproval.
Read More: here
U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes Jr. openly bristled Monday at a deputy attorney general’s attempts to defend restrictions on ballot access in Tennessee ”” restrictions similar to those Haynes threw out as unconstitutional less than 16 months ago.
While his annoyance was clear, Haynes did not rule on the Green and Constitution parties’ request for summary judgment in their favor after 90 minutes of oral arguments, choosing instead to take the matter under advisement. The alternative political parties sued the state in July and argue that state laws make it unconstitutionally hard for third parties to get their names on the ballot in Tennessee.
Pigeon Forge voters once again declined the offer of a cocktail during their meals out as a liquor-by-the-drink referendum failed on its second attempt at the polls Tuesday. The measure was defeated with 55 percent of voters opposed to allowing liquor to be sold at restaurants, according to unofficial returns from the Sevier County Election Commission.
Tennessee voters will decide whether there should be a constitutional guarantee to hunt and fish. State Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press he co-sponsored the ballot initiative because he wants to see the right to take game embedded in the constitution where government couldn’t infringe upon it.
Another example today of why citizen initiative rights are important. This one is from Jackson, Tennessee:
The Jackson City Council turned down a curfew ordinance earlier this year, but some residents are trying to bring it back ”” potentially as a ballot initiative.
The Jackson City Council turned down a curfew ordinance earlier this year, but some residents are trying to bring it back ”” potentially as a ballot initiative. Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association President Scott Conger said he thinks the curfew is a tool in combating youth crime in Jackson that should not be denied because city leaders found that most youth crimes happened outside of the curfew hours ”” 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. most nights of the week ””that would have been set by the rejected ordinance.
I came across an article in the Nashville Scene earlier today and found it to be an interesting take on the idea and practice of a non-binding referendum.
The state election coordinator has ruled that Knox County has to limit a recall ballot initiative to a single question ”” should school board member Bill Phillips be recalled? The ballot cannot contain two questions, election administrator Mark Goins wrote in a four-page opinion released today. The second question would have been whether a special election should be held to choose a successor.
The effort to recall Knox County School Board member Bill Phillips is tabled for now, as the election commission has questions about the wording of the potential ballot item. Administrator of Elections Greg Mackay had a question about the wording of the petition, so the election commission called the state election office to ask about the wording.
Rutherford County could get an alcohol distillery, and pending Tennessee General Assembly legislation will make this possible without a referendum, state Sen. Bill Ketron said.
ARTICLE XI.
Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 3.
Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in
the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed
to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two houses,
such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their
journals with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the General
Assembly then next to be chosen; and shall be published six months
previous to the time of making such choice; and if in the General
You have no statewide Initiative & Referendum rights, but Knoxville, Nashville-Davidson County, Chattanooga and Shelby County (Memphis) have local Initiative rights.
Poll:
See the results of a poll on support for statewide initiative & referendum here.
The Progressives and labor unions never won enactment of statewide
initiative and referendum rights, and had to settle for a 1913 law granting
such rights to residents of a few municipalities.
Excerpted from the Initiative & Referendum Almanac by M. Dane Waters.