KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville City Council met Wednesday for a special session, where they discussed a resolution opposing SB 0526, which is currently making its way through the Tennessee legislature.
The resolution passed unanimously Wednesday.
The state bill was proposed by Representative Elaine Davis (R - Knoxville) and would change how people in Knoxville elect city council members. Currently, when voters head to the polls during primary elections, they are allowed to vote for candidates only in their district. During the city general elections, however, Knoxville voters can vote for candidates in every city council election — including districts outside the one they live in.
State law generally requires cities to hold district-limited elections for city council seats, with the exception of the citywide at-large seats. However, decades ago state lawmakers passed an exception for Knoxville and cities of a similar size to allow voters to elect all of its city council members across all districts on a citywide basis.
SB 0526 would remove that exception.
"I believe that decisions made by the people of Knoxville should be overruled only by a vote of the people of Knoxville," said Vice Mayor Andrew Roberto. "We've had that system in place for 'home rule,' for Knoxville, for almost 70 years. And this is an unwanted, and unneeded, and unnecessary intrusion in the way that Knoxville has conducted our elections by referendum."
In Knoxville's city primaries, the top two candidates that have the most votes move on to face each other in the November general election. Davis said she believed voters in a particular district could be disenfranchised if the candidate that earned the most votes in the district primary lost in the citywide general election.
Representative Sam McKenzie (D - Knoxville) asked on the House floor if the bill had "anything to do with the overwhelming victory that the previous five city council folks had" in Knoxville's last election. Knoxville City Council elections are usually non-partisan, but in the 2021 election, the Knox County GOP publicly endorsed five candidates that sought to unseat the incumbents in Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. All five of the GOP-backed candidates lost.
Roberto also said that he was concerned about whether the state legislature should be able to make decisions about how Knoxville conducts its elections.
"I really think it should be up to the people of Knoxville to decide how best to manage their elections, and that's what 'home rule' means, and that's really what we're talking about this evening at the special called meeting of city council," said Roberto.
There was only one item on the city's agenda for Wednesday's meeting — Resolution 9684. It would formally state that the city council opposes SB 0526 and would affirm the rights guaranteed through the "home rule" section of the state constitution.
The resolution says that the "home rule" section transferred the state's power to enact legislation affecting Knoxville to the city government. The University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service also says that the "home rule" can be adopted by a city and would prevent the state legislature from passing private acts that apply to that city.
The institute said that in 2016, 14 Tennessee cities and towns had "home rule" charters. They are listed below:
- Chattanooga
- Clinton
- East Ridge
- Etowah
- Johnson City
- Knoxville
- Lenoir City
- Memphis
- Mt. Juliet
- Oak Ridge
- Red Bank
- Sevierville
- Sweetwater
- Whitwell
Davis also released a statement about the bill. She does not live in Knoxville. It is available below.
“Our communities deserve to be able to choose which elected officials they want to represent them. Unfortunately, there are places that allow a district’s nominee to be overruled by voters who live outside of the district. This is simply unacceptable and the reason why I was proud to sponsor House Bill 817 to stop this disenfranchisement from continuing. I remain committed to ensuring that Tennessee has the most fair and secure elections in the nation.”
If passed, the resolution would be sent to each member of the Knox County delegation to the General Assembly, as well as to members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee. It would not directly prevent the state's bill from passing. In essence, the resolution would be a symbolic opposition to the bill.
The bill passed the House of Representatives on March 9. It will next be discussed in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 28. The Senate version was introduced by Senator Frank Niceley (R - Strawberry Plains).
The special session of the Knoxville City Council is expected to start at 6 p.m.