Riley Scores Legal Victory Over Holt

 In the battle over where the Sumner County Republican Assembly is allowed to meet, Kurt Riley and the SCRA scored a legal victory over County Mayor Anthony Holt recently. 

The Hendersonville Standard has more:

“I was not aware that the building was being leased out by the volunteer fire department for use by the public,” she said. “It took me a few days to review our insurance policy on the property you referenced. It is okay for the group to meet there.”

When contacted by a reporter, Dennen said she didn’t know what reason Holt gave for saying the group couldn’t meet at the facility.

While the county owns the building, it has given the volunteer fire department the ability to run it, Dennen noted.

“If the fire department leases the facility out to various groups, I said OK, when you do it for one, you’ve got to do it for anyone that wants to use it,” she added.

MORE>

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Radical Riley

 Kurt Riley's purist conservative group - known as the Sumner County Republican Assembly -- purports to be able to judge the "quality" of a Republican. The Tennessee Star has more on the tussle between Riley and Sumner County Mayor (and Republican) Anthony Holt:

Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt referred to a conservative-minded group as “radical,” and forbid any future meetings of the group from being held in a county building.

The “radical” group that Holt called out is the Sumner County Republican Assembly (SCRA), a chapter of the Tennessee Republican Assembly.

The building that Holt banned the SCRA from using is the New Shackle Island Community Center. Construction of the facility was funded from Sumner County’s 2008-2009 budget with $700,000 of taxpayer dollars for use as a community center, ambulance station and fire hall.

The SCRA says that, unlike the state GOP that “cares more about the number of people who join the party, the SCRA is “focused more on the quality of Republican.”

MORE> 

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Hendersonville Election Results

Yesterday, voters in Hendersonville went to the polls to decide on 6 Aldermen and on whether or not wine can be sold in grocery stores.

Here are the results:

WINE in GROCERY STORES:

YES -- 72%
NO  --  28%

Alderman, Ward 1

Rosa Long ran unopposed and will return to the BOMA

Alderman, Ward 2

Pat Campbell -- 62%
Barry Hardwick -- 38%

Alderman, Ward 3

Arlene Cunningham -- 62%
Angie Hedburg -- 38%

Alderman, Ward 4

Steve Brown -- 51%
Kurt Riley -- 49%

Alderman, Ward 5

Hamilton Frost -- 54%
Matt Lawson -- 46%

Alderman, Ward 6

Matt Stamper -- 70%
Jim Hoback -- 15%
Sam Parks III -- 15%

For more news about Hendersonville, Tennessee follow @HvilleNews

Stonewalled!

It seems incumbent County Commissioner Jerry Stone is not please with dialogue about how best to improve schools.  Here's his recent Facebook status:

Reelect Jerry Stone Sumner County Commissioner

13 hours ago

I have removed and blocked several posts from SS members. They are not interested in facts. They have an agenda and they stick to it. They blocked me from their site several months ago, I will unblock them when they unblock me.


The claim Stone makes about being blocked is false, by the way.  The group posted a list of currently blocked individuals, containing 7 people.  Jerry Stone is not on that list and leaders of the organization insist he's never been blocked.

This issue apparently arose because after Stone posted false claims about parent-led advocacy group Strong Schools on his page, several members of that organization took the time to respond. When presented with facts about the schools and with pleas from members of Strong Schools to stop making gross generalizations, Stone's son, Nathan, began responding and was joined by SURG supporters Donna DeSopo and Kurt Riley. 

Commissioner Stone's only response has been to post that he's blocking those who disagree with him or who attempt to engage him in dialogue about schools. 

SURG claims that Stone is the only current County Commissioner who is a member of their organization.  And their leadership is standing behind Stone in the 2014 elections.

This is the same Jerry Stone who opposed a proposal to use funds from the Sumner County's nearly $30 million in reserves to help bridge the gap in the 2012 school system proposed budget.  This would have prevented a tax increase and allowed time for discussion of alternatives. 

Just a few months later, though, Stone supported using reserve funds to bailout the County's mismanaged insurance trust.

More recently, Stone has come out in favor of a property tax increase to support the addition of a new judge in Sumner County. Why does he support this tax? Because the position is needed due to growth. No word on whether SURG leaders are taking Stone to task because of his support for higher taxes.

It's early in election season, but Jerry Stone's Facebook page is certainly proving to be interesting reading.  That is, if you enjoy reading Jerry's complaints about how his constituents want to engage in dialogue but all he wants to see is people who agree with his point of view.