I have long maintained that the people inside East Ridge City Hall, elected officials and upper management, have had their priorities wrong.

You may disagree, but it is my conviction that the number one priority is public safety, followed by sanitation, street maintenance, code enforcement, and parks and recreation. 

So, this spring when Councilwoman Esther Helton began discussions of making the Municipal Court Clerk an employee, not an elected official, my first thought was, “why is this so important?” Of all the problems this city faces (the exodus of police officers, crime in extended stay motels, homelessness, crumbling streets) the issue of the court clerk takes priority? Give me a break.

On first blush, I thought Councilwoman Helton (who, by the way is also our State Representative, and whose husband is the county assessor, and whose son, Lee, will soon become the next Hamilton County Commissioner in District 7) had someone in mind for the job. Her daughter, perhaps? After all, she works as a court clerk for Hamilton County. She would surely be qualified, right?

Councilwoman Helton has denied that her motive was to install someone else in the court clerk’s job. She has vehemently denied it. What’s the old saying: “the dogs with the loudest bark are the ones that are most afraid?” Yes, that’s it.

During discussion by the council it was fleshed out that the motive behind the measure was to “Ensure Accountability.” After all, that’s the catchphrase on the political signs advocating for the clerk being an employee. The disclaimer on the signs say it was paid for by “Concerned Citizens of East Ridge.”

The implication is that the current court clerk, Patricia Cassidy, is not accountable. I respectfully disagree. She’s accountable to the voters of East Ridge. You know, just like the mayor and council. 

It was recently explained to me by a sitting councilman who is a proponent of making the court clerk an employee, that you can’t trust the voters’ intelligence to elect a “qualified” person. To say the least, I was gobsmacked by that comment. 

In Cassidy’s case, the voters elected the most qualified person not once but twice. In her first race, she overcame a cop who was dismissed from the department and was currently running a home improvement business. In her second race, Cassidy bested a former city employee whose career was devoted to maintaining Camp Jordan Park. 

I give the edge to the voters’ intelligence in those two election cycles, don’t you? The voters got it right.

If Ordinance 1163 passes and the court clerk becomes an employee, expect Cassidy to be shown the door. Suffice it to say there is a long history of tension between her and the City Manager.

If Ordinance 1163 fails, expect Cassidy to be re-elected in November for a third term, because she is the most qualified person for the job.