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Showing posts with label Sumner County Elections 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sumner County Elections 2016. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2016

Isbell Wins Primary, Faces Ethics Complaints

John Isbell won the Republican primary for Property Assessor on Tuesday evening, but not without controversy.

A publication/organization with which Isbell is affiliated is under investigation by the District Attorney and the state's Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.

According to the Gallatin News Examiner:

John Isbell is the registered owner of the Sumner Sentinel website and it is the Sentinel's publication mailed just before Election Day that is the subject of both a DA's investigation and an ethics review.

Isbell has denied any wrongdoing at this point.

MORE on this story>

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

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Cox Announces House Bid

Sumner County School Board Chair Beth Cox announced yesterday she will challenge 45th district state Representative Courtney Rogers.

The Hendersonville Star News reported:

She will campaign on three major issues: education; business and the economy; and life and marriage issues, she said.
“I think you’ve all seen from my eight years on the school board that I am someone who takes my passion and puts it to action,” she said.

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

Monday, May 11, 2015

Isbell Faces Questions Over Using Tax Dollars for Politics

Hendersonville News first reported on this site in late January that Sumner County Tax Assessor John Isbell is using his publicly-funded official website for political purposes. Now, local TV station Fox 17 has picked up the story, asking Isbell to justify his actions.

Here's an excerpt from the Fox 17 story:

Log on to the Sumner County web page for Assessor of Property John Isbell and you'll find a link for more information about the recent property tax reappraisal.
That page is attracting criticism from Sumner County residents like Dan Wright who feel its content amounts to a political attack on the public's dime.
"Absolutely it's political yeah. From what I see it's political defense," said Wright.
The part Wright believes is political involves direct attacks towards County Executive Anthony Holt calling him a "Pro-Tax Increase Bureaucrat."
The page also accuses Holt of holding "secret meetings" and "wasting taxpayer dollars" and towards the end of the page accuses him of conduct that's akin to "the worst kind of public servant."

Isbell doesn't deny that the words are his. He only says he's posting what he sees as "the truth."

In 2014, Isbell came under fire for irregularities in the Sumner County Tax assessment. Rather than admit any mistakes, Isbell has chosen to attack those he perceives as political enemies, apparently even using a taxpayer-funded website to do so.

Since at least January of 2015, Isbell has posted explicitly political messages on his official, taxpayer-funded website. He's not taking them down - he's letting the taxpayers foot the bill.

As the 2016 election for Tax Assessor approaches, will Isbell continue to use taxpayer money for political gain?

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