Rutherford Republicans Push For Partisan Local, Schools Elections

NASHVILLE, TN — The Rutherford County Republican Party is asking state lawmakers to carve out an exception for the county and its cities on a state ban against party labels in local elections. The request comes after county party delegates voted overwhelmingly for a resolution calling for candidates in municipal and school board elections to be able to carry a party label.

The Rutherford County Commission has already transitioned to partisan elections and in the last election, 18 of the 21 winners were identified as Republicans on the ballot, along with two independents and one Democrat.

County party chair Donna Barrett wrote a letter to the six-member Rutherford County state legislative delegation — all six are Republicans themselves — saying that the ban on party labels in municipal and school board elections is a First Amendment violation.

"Fundamentally this is an issue of rights. The Rutherford County Republican Party supports everyone’s right to run as a Republican or Democrat if they choose. Current law restricts a person from their First Amendment right to run, however they choose, by limiting their ability to list a party affiliation. The voters deserve to know the core values and the governing principals of a candidate. A candidate’s right to assert their First Amendment right should not be barred ... With my support, I am requesting that the Tennessee State Legislature review and amend the charters for Rutherford County and the cities within the county borders to allow these candidates to identify with their party affiliation," she wrote.

School board chairman Jeff Jordan, a Democrat and former county commissioner, told the Daily News Journal that he doesn't see the value of partisan labels in local elections and that when he ran for county commission, only two people out of the more than 1,000 he spoke to asked for his party affiliation.

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