Hamilton County Mayor Explains Why County Attorney Was Fired

Image Credit: LinkedIn & Hamilton County Mayor’s Office / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

County Attorney Rheubin Taylor has been fired and Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp explained that decision on Monday, stating that Taylor was the only department head mentioned by his legal advisors when changes were being recommended as Wamp prepared to take office.

“As is the tradition in every county in Tennessee it seems except ours, everybody looks to the county mayor to see who the county attorney is going to be,” Wamp said Monday in a phone call with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, “and in this county we have an entrenched county attorney who wields an enormous amount of influence over the commissioners, which is a highly unusual situation.” 

It was announced by the mayor’s office last week that Taylor would be removed from the position immediately. Taylor has been the county attorney for almost three decades. 

According to a news release, Wamp made the decision because of private legal work that was being conducted during business hours, client privilege within the mayor’s office and admissions that documents related to open record requests had been destroyed in Taylor’s office. 

The mayor revealed on Monday that it is not much of a secret that Taylor maintained a great book of private clients while working as county attorney, including taking referrals from those within the courthouse. 

“That is highly inappropriate,” Wamp told Times Free Press. “I promised taxpayers that I would be a good steward. I promised that I would bring new transparency and accountability into government, and often change is hard.” 

Wamp said Taylor was informed on September 8 about their intentions to hire a new county attorney. He was offered the opportunity to set the terms of his retirement. Details of the conversation were leaked to the media and others, he said. 

Three Hamilton County commissioners told the Times Free Press that they were not aware that Wamp intended to fire Taylor on Friday, but Wamp insisted that members of the panel were at least aware that he was planning to appoint someone else to the position. 

Wamp said his office opted to pursue outside legal advice to confirm that he could fire Taylor on his own. 

In June 2021, the current mayor Jim Coppinger and commissioners approved a four-year contract with Taylor, ending in June of 2025. Termination of the contract requires a majority of the County Commission.

Commissioners may end up seeking their own legal opinion on the issue. Chairman Chip Baker said the panel will decide during its regular meetings whether to hire a local attorney (John Konvalinka) to decide if the mayor is allowed to make that decision without input from the County Commission. 

“Unfortunately, we have to spend money to deal with something that could have been, in my opinion, more cut-and-dry,” Baker said in a phone call. 

Heather Duncan, a field consultant with the County Technical Assistance Service confirmed Monday that Wamp has the authority to make that decision. 

Duncan noted that Taylor was appointed by Coppinger and the timing of his contract should have coincided with the end of Coppinger’s term. 

“I think there probably should’ve been some dialogue between the mayor and the County Commission about what the agenda was moving forward with the Hamilton County attorney’s position,” Commissioner Jeff Eversole said in a phone call. 

Eversole said he hopes the mayor’s office presents more than just one or two candidates for consideration.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com