Chattanooga, Tenn. (February 4th, 2025) - Today Mayor Kelly released a
video challenging Chattanoogans to set a new record for turnout in a City
election and make their voices heard on the residency ballot initiative. View
the video here <https://youtu.be/VbGHL1FXBw0>.
This year’s municipal election is on March 4th, with early voting running
from February 12th to February 27th.
The previous highest turnout in a City election was 30,812 in 2001. With
more than 110,000 registered voters, Chattanooga would easily break that
record this year with a voter turnout of only 30%.
Why is the mayor issuing this challenge? Well, as he says in the video,
“This year’s election is especially important because it’s not just
candidates on the ballot. In the March 4th election, Chattanoogans will be
asked to vote on an important ballot measure that is being supported by our
Police and Fire Departments.”
Chattanooga’s Police and Fire Departments are asking Chattanoogans to vote yes
on the amendment that will allow them to recruit first responders from
other states. Like first responder agencies across the country, CPD and CFD
have had unprecedented difficulty recruiting new officers since the COVID
pandemic. The city has already taken historic action to improve
recruitment, with 24% first responder pay raises in 2021 and the recent
lowering of CFD’s minimum age for new recruits from 21 to 18.
But even with those changes, recruitment is still a challenge. The
departments’ recruiting staff have told Chief Hyman, Chief Chambers, and
Mayor Kelly that they know there are qualified, quality candidates in North
Georgia and other nearby areas who want to serve in their departments, but
are unable to due to a requirement that all Chattanooga city employees live
in the state of Tennessee.
As the mayor says in the video, “current law allows our Police and Fire
departments to hire someone who lives five hours away in Memphis, while
forbidding them from hiring someone who lives five minutes away in
Rossville…As mayor, I want everyone to choose to live in the city limits of
Chattanooga. But even more than that, I want our Police and Fire
departments to be fully staffed with the very best people they can find–so
that they have the manpower needed to keep us safe. ”
Chattanoogans can find information on early voting, absentee voting, and
their polling location by visiting the Count Election Commission website at
https://elect.hamiltontn.gov/