Two Campaigns Reflect Two Candidates… One Leader.
It’s an Assessor of Property race; but one that reveals a stark approach to an important role in local government. Four years ago, promises were made to reduce spending, eliminate take-home cars and modernize the Assessor’s Office. Those promises have been kept by me and the incredible team in the Assessor’s Office from September 2016 until now.
Now, my opponent has alleged corruption. The 2002 Federal Emergency Management Agency ’s documentation shows that a Chattanooga business qualified for a reduced property value due to frequent flooding (i.e. being in a FEMA defined floodway). It was not until 2015 that long-time incumbent Assessor Bill Bennett instructed the staff to provide assessments for all commercial properties to reflect growth and changes influencing the valuation of properties. The property in the midst of this campaign stunt could have qualified for a change in assessment almost twenty years ago. That change was addressed beginning in 2015.
For a candidate to libel and slander a small, local business for the purpose of political traction should prove something to the citizens of Hamilton County: One running to serve in one of the most strictly regulated offices in local governments charged to oversee property - the most valuable investment of the average person must be trustworthy… every time.
As a County Commissioner, I stood up to my fellow Commissioners committed to their spending “slush” discretionary fund. One of those individuals is now running in this race, running a nasty campaign with DC-Style accusations that are baseless and accuse both a small business owner and an elected official of illegal acts driven by the findings of a push poll and personal opinion.
Loud, angry political attacks say more about the person making them than their intended target. I will stand proudly on the unblemished record of this Assessor’s Office that has exceeded the quarterly audits of the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and was named the East Tennessee Assessor Office of the Year. We’ve kept our promises and will keep one more: We’ll fight to protect the value of your most important investment - your property - from politicians aiming to score points and feather their nests.
I’m Marty Haynes. You trusted me in 2016. I kept my promises, and you can trust me now in 2020 and to lead this office going forward.
It’s an Assessor of Property race; but one that reveals a stark approach to an important role in local government. Four years ago, promises were made to reduce spending, eliminate take-home cars and modernize the Assessor’s Office. Those promises have been kept by me and the incredible team in the Assessor’s Office from September 2016 until now.
Now, my opponent has alleged corruption. The 2002 Federal Emergency Management Agency ’s documentation shows that a Chattanooga business qualified for a reduced property value due to frequent flooding (i.e. being in a FEMA defined floodway). It was not until 2015 that long-time incumbent Assessor Bill Bennett instructed the staff to provide assessments for all commercial properties to reflect growth and changes influencing the valuation of properties. The property in the midst of this campaign stunt could have qualified for a change in assessment almost twenty years ago. That change was addressed beginning in 2015.
For a candidate to libel and slander a small, local business for the purpose of political traction should prove something to the citizens of Hamilton County: One running to serve in one of the most strictly regulated offices in local governments charged to oversee property - the most valuable investment of the average person must be trustworthy… every time.
As a County Commissioner, I stood up to my fellow Commissioners committed to their spending “slush” discretionary fund. One of those individuals is now running in this race, running a nasty campaign with DC-Style accusations that are baseless and accuse both a small business owner and an elected official of illegal acts driven by the findings of a push poll and personal opinion.
Loud, angry political attacks say more about the person making them than their intended target. I will stand proudly on the unblemished record of this Assessor’s Office that has exceeded the quarterly audits of the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and was named the East Tennessee Assessor Office of the Year. We’ve kept our promises and will keep one more: We’ll fight to protect the value of your most important investment - your property - from politicians aiming to score points and feather their nests.
I’m Marty Haynes. You trusted me in 2016. I kept my promises, and you can trust me now in 2020 and to lead this office going forward.