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Poll: Tennesseans  Support  Gun Laws, Abortion, LGBTQ Rights

Photo by Brandon Hooper / Unsplash

In the wake of  local gun incidents that have prompted potential emergency action from the Memphis city council, a Vanderbilt University survey demonstrates a favorable attitude statewide for new firearms legislation.

The semiannual Vanderbilt Poll, released on Wednesday, finds “significant bipartisan support” for government action on gun control. The poll also indicates support for “basic protections for abortion” and for provision of health care options for the LGBTQ community.

Though Governor Bill Lee has said he intends to call a special session of the General Assembly to consider new gun laws, the legislature adjourned its 2023 session last week without considering such legislation. Meanwhile, the Memphis city council may test the resolve of the Assembly’s Republican supermajority against new laws by passing its own gun ordinances. 

The council’s action, signaled by Councilman Jeff Warren, is in response to the shooting of two people on Beale Street over the weekend, followed by a disturbed young gunman’s firing a round on Tuesday into the studio space of Fox-13  television.

The council will apparently consider action for a red-flag law, for banning assault weapons locally, and to require gun-carry permits. If it does so, it will challenge state government’s increasing emphasis on curtailing local options.

However the state might respond officially, its citizens would find such action agreeable, according to the Vanderbilt Poll.

The survey, conducted April 19-23 among 1,003 registered Tennessee voters, shows that 82 percent of those polled support Gov. Lee’s  recent executive order on gun background checks, and that three-quarters of them desire “red flag” laws to that end.

Support for the governor’s executive order, issued in response to the recent Covenant School shootings in Nashville, which killed six people, was 81 percent among self-described non-MAGA Republicans, 91 percent among Democrats, and 78 percent among independents.

The survey indicates that gun control ranked as the third-most important issue on the minds of Tennesseans, just two percentage points behind education and three points behind the economy. 

On abortion, 82 percent of those surveyed supported the right of abortion in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother.

Further, says a summary of poll results, “At a rate of 3 to 1, Tennesseans oppose the idea that a person should be charged with a crime if they help a Tennessee citizen get an abortion in another state. Opposition to this idea is again bipartisan, with 93 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Independents, 62 percent of non-MAGA Republicans and 53 percent of MAGA Republicans.”

And, though the survey indicates sentiment to control sexually suggestive entertainments in public, apparently including drag shows, “most voters oppose legislation that would restrict transgender individuals’ access to health care.” Such restrictions were opposed by 66 percent of those surveyed.

“It’s hopeful that while 58 percent of respondents view Tennesseans as divided, there is a fairly strong agreement on basic next steps in our most politically divisive issues,” said John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll and Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. “At the same time, 74 percent of registered voters say they’d prefer their elected leaders compromise across the aisle rather than strictly pursue their own values and priorities.”

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DA Mulroy Sums Up the Lessons of the Nichols Case

Credit: Jackson Baker

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, whose prompt reaction to events in the Tyre Nichols case won him plaudits nationally and internationally, got the chance last week to do some boasting of his own — before a jury of his peers.

The occasion was Thursday’s annual spring meeting of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice section at The Peabody, where Mulroy was the keynote speaker.

Referring to the recent actions of our state legislature, Mulroy said, “Admittedly, these are not boon times in the Volunteer State for the cause of civil rights and justice. But let me suggest that Memphis is the ideal place for your meeting, because it illustrates that even out of stark challenges, we can learn valuable lessons of reform. “ 

Recalling lawyer Ben Crump’s statement that “the way we handled this tragedy was ‘a blueprint for the nation,” Mulroy acknowledged, “I’m proud of that, and I’m proud of the way my staff thoroughly but quickly dealt with a potentially explosive fiasco.”   

The DA elaborated on the lessons of the Nichols case, classifying his remarks under three headings: “We Can Pick Up The Pace; We Can Be More Transparent; [and] We Can Be More Strategic.”

Apropos the pace of things, Mulroy noted, “[W]e brought TBI [Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation] in immediately and we began our investigation. DOJ [Department of Justice] announced its investigation within 11 days. Memphis Police Department [MPD] fired the officers within two weeks. We allowed the family to view the footage within 16 days of the incident, 13 days of the death. We announced indictments within three weeks.” 

All that, he said, constituted “an extraordinary pace for an extraordinary case.” Further: “Unnecessary delay would have fueled precisely that public distrust that was already at a low level. We did a speedy but thorough review of the facts and rendered a fair decision.”

As for the matter of transparency, Mulroy reviewed  for his audience a thicket of customary practices and red tape obstacles that might have delayed his release of the MPD’s tell-tale video but declared, “Video should be released as soon as possible, without interfering in the ongoing investigation.”

And, while the potential restrictions he enumerated might theoretically have applied to his office, Mulroy said both he and MPD, which possessed the videos, resolved to expedite their release, “as soon as key witness interviews [were] completed,” and almost immediately upon the DA’s levying of second-degree murder charges against the five police officers involved in the beating death of Nichols.

“It worked,” Mulroy said. The videos would speak  for themselves to a massive and horrified worldwide audience. “The nation braced for a violent reaction, not only in Memphis but around the country. And, while there were indeed vigorous (and understandable) protests here and in major cities across the nation, they were peaceful.”  

For the success of the operation, Mulroy credited the recommendations of his newly created Justice Review Unit and an effective “partnership among local, state, and federal law enforcement, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office” and his own.

“The Tyre Nichols case,” Mulroy summed up, “rightfully sparked a nationwide conversation about police use of force and the need for police reform. Whatever one concludes about criminal liability regarding any individual defendant, I think it’s fair to conclude that suspect practices are not the work of one or two rogue outliers.  Instead, there is a culture that needs to be changed.”

Among other potential reforms, Mulroy recommended “a provision in all budgets establishing a set amount for liability claims due to police misconduct. If that year’s awards exceed that amount, the difference gets deducted from the law enforcement budget. If it comes in under budget, it captures the surplus.”

He said, “If we really want to address what we all acknowledge to be a systemic problem, and further truly lasting change, half measures simply will not do.” 

After all the gravity of his remarks, Mulroy being Mulroy, he concluded with one of his patented limericks: 

“Thank you all for giving me the time/

As you ponder the justice of crime/

Once you’re all through/

Get some great barbecue/

You can mark it as billable time.”

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Leaked Audio: GOP House Members In-Fighting Over Ouster Vote

GOP Rep. Jody Barrett (TN.gov)

After last week’s vote by state House Republicans to expel Democrats Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson over their gun-safety demonstration on the House floor, there were recriminations to be had.

In particular, GOP state Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) had to fend off his Republican colleagues for his ‘no’ vote to expel Gloria Johnson. That vote caused the expel resolution in her case to fail, and for the GOP members to be assailed for racism.

Besides Barrett, the GOP talkers are Jason Zachary, Knoxville, who begins by saying, “The Democrats are not our friends”; Johnny Garrett, Goodlettsville; Majority Leader William Lamberth, Portland; and Scott Cepicky, Culleoka. Cepicky is the one who believes the outcome of things is a threat to the existence of the Republic and who maintains, “You got to be what’s right, even if you think it’s wrong.”

Listen to the bitching and moaning here, courtesy of the Tennessee Holler. It speaks for itself.

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Pearson is Back!

Justin Pearson takes the pledge of allegiance on Wednesday. Credit: Jackson Baker

The first-floor auditorum of the Vasco Smith County Building has been jam-packed before, but never with so many members of the national media, as it was on Wednesday afternoon when the Shelby County Commission met to consider a vote that would return Justin J. Pearson to the state House, whose Republican supermajority had expelled him a week earlier.

It was the second  time this year that Memphis had become the scene of such attention — the other occasion being the tragedy of Tyre Nichols, slain by five errant Memphis cops.

 Wednesday’s event, by contrast with that one, was pure celebration.

Representatives of various TV networks were chagrined to find the plug-ins for their mics and cameras not working, but they persevered as best they could in their determination to provide live feeds to the nation.  Locals were there in force as well, and other legislators from Nashville, and Congressman Steven Cohen, and — frankly, there was no counting them all.

Soon to be looking for a place to sit or stand were members of what was said to a supportive 500-person march, led by Justin Jones of Nashville and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, the other members, with Pearson, of the Tennessee Three. Jones had been expelled, along with Pearson, for demonstrating on the House floor in favor of gun-safety legislation. Nashville’s Metro Council had voted on Monday to send hm back to the legislature.

For an in-depth look at all that has transpired, see the Memphis Flyer‘s cover story this week.
 
Justin’s father was asked to open the meeting with a prayer and obliged.
 
Wasting no time, chairman Mickell Lowery, a constituent of Pearson’s District 86, advised Pearson, who sat expectantly on the first row, “we’re all with you.”  


Lowery called the roll and promptly asked for a vote on returning Pearson to the legislature.Voting aye, along with himself, were six other Democrats — Shante Avant, Miska Bibbs, Henri Brooks, Edmund Ford, Charlie Caswell, and Erika Sugarmon. 

That was a quorum, and that was a Yes. 

When the seven votes were properly recorded, the crowd whooped thunderously. So much for chairman Lowery’s dutiful admonition in advance that crowd responses should be either thumbs up or thumbs down.

Responding, Pearson said the GOP’s House majority hadn’t reckoned with the Shelby County Commission. He praised the “moral courage of Memphis, Tennessee.”

He further proclaimed, “We never bow, we never break, we never bend …We’re tired of business as usual. We do not speak alone. We speak together. You can’t expel hope, you can’t expel justice … and you sure as hell can’t expel our fight.”

He concluded, “Let’s get back to work!”

There was another collective whoop, and, with that, the Tennessee state House was reconstituted as had been duly elected.

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Hundreds Protest at Capitol

Hundreds gathered at the Capitol building to protest the proposed expulsion of three Democratic representatives. Credit: Preston Shipp via twitter

https://twitter.com/i/status/1642928430797733888https://twitter.com/i/status/1642928430797733888

All hell is breaking loose in Nashville. The crowd in this video is not chanting “Love Bill Lee!” Or “Rock Bill Lee!” (which is somewhat closer to the actual sound).

Their outrage relates to an ongoing effort by the General Assembly’s Republican supermajority to expel three Democratic legislators, including Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, for supporting anti-gun demonstrators from the floor of the House last Thursday.

An expulsion resolution will be voted on Thursday of this week. Meanwhile Pearson, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville have had their credentials (the ones they use to access the Capitol building after hours and the floor during hours) revoked.

This story will be updated as events warrant.

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Lexie Carter Wins Local Democratic Chairmanship (updated)

New SCDP chair Lexie Carter (r) and runner-up Jesse Huseth (Jackson Baker)

Veteran party activist Lexie Carter was selected the new chair of the Shelby County Democratic Party in a Zoom election on Saturday.

The vote, by participating members of the party’s executive committee and grass-roots council, was a close one: 52-49 for Carter over runner-up Jesse Huseth.

Both candidates strongly favored retaining party primaries for county elections, and both wanted to have such primaries as well for city-government elections, which have so far been non-partisan. Doing the latter, said Huseth, would prevent “masquerading” with pseudo-democratic positions in city elections.

Carter emphasized fundraising as a priority (“I raise money, and I do it well,” she said), while Huseth underscored the need to improve voter turnout.

Carter advocated apportioning members of the executive committee and grass-roots council by pegging the positions to state House district. (At present, these positions are derived via County Commission districts.)

The party reorganization process began two weeks ago when members of the executive committee and grass-roots council won their positions at a preliminary meeting at First Baptist Church, Broad.

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Chancellor Keeps City Out of Mayoral Residency Suit

Robert Spence, attorney for mayoral candidate Floyd Bonner, meets with reporters after Friday's hearing. Photo: Jackson Baker.

Phase One of the mayoral residency issue got a hearing Friday in the court of Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins, and the main result was that Memphis city attorney Jennifer Sink, who may have passed the buck on residency requirements to attorney Robert Meyers, had the buck passed right back to her.

Strictly speaking, the issue was whether the City of Memphis should be joined to the case, as attorneys for the Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC) maintained and as attorneys for plaintiffs and mayoral candidates Floyd Bonner and Van Turner insisted was unnecessary.

After hearing testimony from both sides, Jenkins found essentially for the plaintiffs, ruling that he found it “unclear” that the city attorney had officially endorsed or signed off on an opinion from Meyers, a former SCEC chair, that she sent to the commission, which posted it on its website.

In the opinion, Meyers held that candidates for Memphis mayor remained bound by provisions in an 1896 city charter that insisted on a prior five-year residency in the city. Arguing for the SCEC, attorney Ed McKenney attempted to disclaim the commission’s responsibility for the ruling and said the SCEC had merely served as a conduit for the city’s position. The plaintiffs’ position has been that Sink had not submitted the Meyers opinion in any official way.

To the chancellor’s somewhat rhetorical question, “How would the city be bound?,” Bonner’s attorney Robert Spence replied, “Not to be flippant, but who cares? The city does not conduct elections.” Sink, he maintained, had not adopted or co-signed the Meyers opinion.

In essence, Jenkins concurred with that in his finding Friday. The chancellor had mentioned that, in any case he personally was aware of “two or three”opinions the city was privy to other than that of Meyers. (An author of one of those opinions, city council attorney Allan Wade, was in the courtroom Friday.)

Spence said after the hearing that the chancellor had put “the ball in the Election Commission’s court.” McKenney agreed that, pending a response by Sink, who could meanwhile add an official endorsement of the Meyers’ opinion on the part of the city. “We [the SCEC] may be forced to defend it on our own,” he said.

A status conference on the matter will be held in Jenkins’ court on Thursday .

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Part Two: Mayoral Candidate Update

J.W. Gibson (right) in discussion with consultant Brett Thompson at a recent meet and greet. (Credit: Jackson Baker)

Note: in a prior article, the campaigns of four presumably mainline mayoral candidates were discussed  — those of Floyd Bonner, Paul Young, Van Turner, and Willie Herenton.

J.W. Gibson: The businessman/developer is something of a wild card in the Mayor’s race. He is a former County Commissioner whose high-matter mark, politically, was a hard-fought but losing in-camera contest for a chairmanship vacancy with then Commission colleague Joe Ford.

Gibson is well known in developmental circles and to a certain extent in political ones, as well. At the moment, he still hopes to be involved in a pending, long-maturing TIF that would cover the Soulsville area of South Memphis.

Of all the declared candidates, Gibson has the most direct access to independent wealth, and that puts him, to start with, at an even keel financially with Bonner and Young, the standout fundraisers so far.

His financial means could be important, especially in a protracted race, but Gibson, however familiar to insiders, has a long way to go to achieve widespread name recognition in the community at large.

Frank Colvett: This city councilman, a former Council chair, took pains when he announced to insist that he was not a partisan candidate and would appeal to all sectors of the Memphis  population in what is, of course, a formally non-partisan race.

Even so, Colvett’s image as a well-known Republican stirred speculation that the councilman intended to corner the local GOP electorate as at least a base for his further efforts.

As last year’s county general election made clear, though, Republicans are a distinct minority in Shelby County, and that disparity is even more pronounced within Memphis city limits, where the GOP-voting population is estimated to be between 15 and 20 percent.

Colvett is doggedly showing up at many of the mayoral forums, often ill-attended, that are so far being held. And he is a fixture at any bona fide Republican event, handing out his lapel stickers at the gate.

James Harvey: Another former County Commissioner, another Republican (as of recent years, anyhow), and a true long shot, Harvey is an African-American who hopes to get his share of widely disparate voting populations.

He has a tendency to talk too long when asked to speak at events (a holdover from his erstwhile Commission habits), but, as he demonstrated at a recent GOP meeting (in Germantown, not the most obvious place to find Memphis voters), he was off-and-on riveting when he talked Law and Order themes to the faithful.

Still, he probably shouldn’t hold his breath. (Or, to invert that metaphor, maybe he should.)

Karen Camper: As the minority leader of the state House Democrats, Camper is an influential figure, and in her campaign announcement, she made a good try of casting herself as a spokesperson for Memphis’ inner-city neighborhoods. 

And her legislative experience has given her a good grasp of the state-local interface she would need to work as the city’s chief executive.

One thing that has held her back is the moratorium that’s been imposed on fundraising of General Assembly members for the duration of the current legislative session. 

Another thing that holds her back is the simple fact that, however important she is as a pubic official, she has been working at a 225-mile distance from Memphis and, consequently, outside Nashville and her legislative district, she remains something of an unknown in Memphis at large.

Michelle McKissack: There surely is a political market for such a highly presentable and well-spoken female candidate as this former local TV personality who has lately served as chair of the Shelby County Schools board.

But McKissack has been stumbling somewhat in making her entry into the race an established fact. She made an unusual public announcement early on that she was thinking of running, but has never amplified on that in any tangible way since. (She has been, however, a presence at several local low-key forums.)

Another drawback to McKissack’s candidacy is that she is subject to fallout from the embarrassing implosion of the now departed and disgraced schools superintendent Joris Ray, whom she had a hand in selecting.

Judge Joe Brown: You kidding me? Is he really running — this former actual Shelby County jurist and, somewhat famously later, a pretend one on syndicated national TV?

Well, he evidently really is. He’s showed up at a couple of local mayoral forums, anyway, where he has continued demonstrating a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease (e.g., saying out loud that a female Mayor would be subject to being raped if she kept a too public profile).

Brown’s name recognition was thought to be an advantage when he ran for D.A. back in 2014, and it may well continue to be, given that  former Councilman and current Shelby County Clerk Joe Brown (no relation) probably owes his various elections to the name similarity.

But Judge Brown’s 2014 campaign dramatically dissolved as a result of his many behavioral and verbal indiscretions, and he had no money to run on, anyhow. He still doesn’t have any.

(This concludes Part Two of a brief survey of Memphis mayoral candidates. Almost surely I’ve overlooked somebody, in which case I’ll realize that at some point and add them on. In any case, petitions can’t even be drawn until May 22, so nobody is really official just yet.)

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Part One: Memphis Mayoral Candidate Update

Paul Young, with wife Jamila Smith-Young at LeMoyne-Owen meet-and-greet

Amid legal developments that could make it a potentially pivotal week in the Memphis mayoral race, it might be useful to hazard a brief synopsis of how the various campaigns are stacking up.

Floyd Bonner: The Shelby County Sheriff launched his candidacy last fall with good prospects of putting potential rivals in the dust.
Bonner had handily won two successive county races, leading all candidates in vote totals both times. The fact that crime loomed as the likely major issue to be faced by city voters undoubtedly boosted his profile.

Almost immediately, Bonner attracted the same kind of influential bipartisan support that he enjoyed in his races for sheriff. His campaign team actually envisioned amassing enough cash reserves early enough to dissuade potential rivals from running. And indeed, with first-quarter receipts of some $300,000 this year, and with good numbers anticipated in the soon-t-be second quarter disclosures, he has delivered. But Bonner’s then anticipated opponents didn’t scare.

Paul Young: The Downtown Memphis Commission CEO matched Bonner dollar for dollar and even exceeded the sheriff somewhat. This was the result of months and even years of advance preparation and of a robust standing with the city’s business and civic elite. Young is thought to be the preferred candidate of the current city administration, though incumbent Mayor Jim Strickland is himself conspicuously neutral so far. He is also thought to be ahead in fundraising at this point, whether marginally or to larger degree.

Young’s major problem is that, however well he rates with insiders, he still lacks much name recognition with the public at large. In the long term, his campaign money will have to buy that.

In the short term, Young stands to benefit hugely if the Election Commission’s provisional ruling requiring a five-year prior residency in Memphis — one that would disqualify candidates Bonner, Van Turner, and Willie Herenton — is upheld. A ruling is expected shortly in Chancery Court. “Either way is fine with me,” Young said at an event Saturday. Sure.

Van Turner: The mayoral ambitions of the former Shelby County Commission chairman and current NAACP head have been known for years, and he is generally respected across the political spectrum, though his most significant following  is among Democratic Party regulars — a fact not to be discounted, given the demographic edge demonstrated by the party in recent local elections.

Turner has struggled to keep up with the fundraising totals of Bonner and Young, though he was in the ballpark on the first quarterly report, with some $150,000 raised. Since then, he has figured prominently, in national as well as local media, in public reckonings of the tragic death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police. This kind of free media is also not to be discounted, though its shelf life is unknown.

Turner’s suit challenging the Election Commission ruling on residency is one of two  (the other is Bonner’s). The outcome is, of course, crucial.

Willie Herenton: The former longtime mayor is also vulnerable on the residency score on account of a brief sojourn in Collierville — an ironic fact, given that 30 years ago he personally created the sprawling (and enduring) Banneker Estates development in south Memphis.

There is in any case no questioning the historical cachet of the first elected Black mayor in Memphis history, one who served 17 years and claimed several achievements — notably his leadership of a defiant 1997 effort that successfully ended in a legal reprieve for Memphis vis–a-vis “toy town” legislation that would have blocked the city’s legitimate avenues for expansion.

Herenton remains a controversial figure, as much because of his strong and sometimes disputatious personality as for any lingering racial animus among the city’s Old Guard. But he can claim a substantially sized loyalist base in the inner city and has to be reckoned with in a crowded, winner-take-all field.

(Next: Part Two: J.W. Gibson heads a second tier with potential for rising.)

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Local GOP Chair Urges New Look, Enlargement from Trump Era

Shelby GOP chair Cary Vaughn on Saturday

It’s been an astonishing and paradoxical weekend for the Shelby County Republican Party.

On Saturday, some 100 or so members of the party faithful had a dissent-free reorganizing convention in which chairman Cary Vaughn, who was re-elected by acclamation, called for “turning the page” and distancing the party from “the Trump brand.”

On Sunday, rumbles were heard from the local GOP’s populist right wing, notably from former Shelby County Commission chair Terry Roland, who issued a retort saying, “Without Trump you don’t have a party,” and contending that there were “more Trump [voters] than not” among the county’s Republicans, “and we aren’t taking a back seat to anyone.”

Roland, who chaired the local Trump election efforts in 2016 and 2020, went so far as to say: “Most of us won’t support anyone else, so I’m done with the Shelby County party after 36 years.”

In his acceptance remarks on Saturday, Vaughn had said, “We need boots on the ground. We need new people. … We can’t get there with the same core group. … We have to truly look at how we market the Shelby County GOP. … We have to work on the depth chart, right?”

Vaughn said, “We’re kind of fractured a little bit. We’ve got Trumpers,  we’ve got Never Trumpers, we’ve got moderates, we’ve got people that are ultra ultra conservative, and and we all have to live together in the sandbox. But here’s my point. There’s enough common core, enough common ground, right?”

The chairman illustrated his point by citing a conversation with an African-American acquaintance, who told him, “We as African Americans want to be a part of the Republican Party in Shelby County.” Vaughn quoted the man as saying many Blacks were “pro-life, pro-God, pro-business, pro-traditional marriage [and] believe in core values. But we’re not coming over under the Trump brand.”

[Apropos this aspect of Vaugh’s appeal, Roland’s statement declares, “So you would throw Trump under the bus to get maybe a few minority votes and lose all the the Trumpers. Real smart.”]

Calling for the party to broaden its recruitment efforts, Vaughn identified as potential new GOP cadres “the people that serve in the same pockets that we serve, the people that we work with, the people that we serve with.” Republicans should say to such people, “You need to join. I’m gonna sponsor you to join the Republican Party. And then all of a sudden, activity happens.

“If nothing changes, nothing happens, right? And so we have to find a way to say look, there is room for everybody at the table with the Shelby County GOP. Now maybe we tear down the silos just a little bit so that we can come together on these core competencies, and we can move this party forward.” 

There was also the matter of fund-raising for the party, which he spoke of as being urgent. “We know people that have the financial capacity, but they have no desire. We have people that have desire and passion, but they don’t have two nickels to rub together. … No money, no mission. We’ve got to focus on this money piece so that we  can move forward.

“We want to be more successful in winning in elections, right? We begin with the end in mind — we have to win elections. That’s why we’re here. But at the same time, we want to focus on how we market ourselves how we push membership, and also how we raise more money for the foundation, and how we raise more money for the GOP.”

After his remarks to the convention, and as members gathered in groups according to state House districts and busied themselves with the process of electing  a new steering committee, Vaughn expressed optimism regarding the GOP’s future in a session with reporters.

Asked if he anticipated blowback from die-hard Trump supporters,  Vaughan said, “I think all that’ll work out in the long run. I think what we have to focus on is electing the right people for the right positions for the right purpose. It’s kind of a Tom Sawyer approach. We’re gonna paint this big fence, everybody’s gonna grab a brush, and everybody’s gonna do it together. We’re gonna have fun.”

That, of course remains to be seen. If Roland’s sentiments turn out to reflect a significant number of the county’s Trump-leaning Republicans, the big fence may not get painted so easily, and chairman Vaughn may not experience all the fun he’s counting on.