Gary Humble
Gary Humble is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Tennessee Stands, an organization working to secure liberty and hold elected officials accountable to the Constitution through legislation, litigation, and education. Follow Gary @garyhumble and visit www.tennesseestands.org.
Who is really at the helm of your County Election Commission?
It would behoove every voter in the state of Tennessee to know the answer to that question for their respective county.
In Williamson County, the answer is as plain as day. Senator Jack Johnson. And voters need to ask themselves, “Why?”
Our County Election Commission (CEC) has had a string of vacancies over recent months. Chairman Bob Brown resigned to run Beth Harwell’s congressional campaign. At the request of Jack Johnson, the State Election Commission (SEC) appointed Donna Choate to the vacancy, a supporter of Johnson and campaign donor.
When Mr. Brown was finished running Harwell’s campaign, another vacancy opened up on the CEC (of course it did), and Bob Brown was reappointed to the CEC, again at the request of Senator Jack Johnson.
A few short weeks ago, Bob Brown once again resigned his position on the CEC because apparently, he has now taken a paid position which by statute disqualifies him from having such an appointment on the elections board. So, conservatives in Williamson County sprang into action to petition both our local state representatives and the State Election Commission to appoint someone to the board with a high level of knowledge of data and election systems and a keen interest in election integrity, Mr. Benitez. Seemed like a perfect choice.
Petitioning local state representatives in this matter is an important step as Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-12-103(b)(4) specifies that ” before appointing county election commissioners, the members of the state election commission shall consult with the members of the general assembly serving each of the counties as to the persons to be appointed to the county election commission.”
In the days leading up to the vacancy appointment on the Williamson County Election Commission…
From the letter drafted by Rep. Gino Bulso to the SEC, he states…
In light of all of this support from conservatives and both county and state elected officials, who do you suppose the State Election Commission appointed to this vacant position on the CEC?
The answer is Doug Grindstaff, an 83-year-old former county Republican party chairman and campaign treasurer, and of course, a longtime friend and campaign donor to Senator Jack Johnson.
To be quite honest, beyond these very simple and verifiable facts, we have more questions than answers. And I bet you do too.
If you would like the answers to some of those questions, may we suggest that you contact the following individuals with your inquiries.
Senator Jack Johnson sen.jack.johnson@capitol.tn.gov
Secretary of State Tre Hargett Tre.Hargett@tn.gov
State Elections Coordinator Mark Goins Mark.Goins@tn.gov
State Elections Commissioner Donna Barrett tennessee.elections@tn.gov
State Elections Commissioner Judy Blackburn tennessee.elections@tn.gov
State Elections Commissioner Jimmy Eldridge tennessee.elections@tn.gov
State Elections Commissioner Kent Younce tennessee.elections@tn.gov
Read the letter from the office of Rep. Gino Bulso.
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Gary Humble
Gary Humble