Image Credit: Joe T. Williams / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
The Republican candidate for the Williamson County District 10 County Commission race has issued a statement in response to Franklin resident Joe Williams pulling his petition to run against him as an Independent.
The news of Williams decision to pull a petition and run for the seat came through an August 15th Facebook post which stated:
“Got your popcorn ready?
Earlier today I filed a qualifying petition to run as an independent candidate for the Williamson County Commission in District 10. It has been certified and I will be on the ballot.
The decision was not made lightly, nor without a lot of prayer and contemplation. Nor was it made too timely. When I pulled the petition, I had 20 hours to get 25 certified signatures. Thanks to so many friends we had 47, more than enough, before the noon deadline today.
The message is simple: Common Sense for Common Ground. Think for yourself! I truly believe there is a vast, quiet majority of people who understand the things that unite us far outnumber the things that divide us, that we can disagree on some things and still be friends, that compromise for the common good is not a dirty word.
I hope to reach that quiet majority, whether they normally have an R or D or an I beside their allegiances. We can no longer follow just party mandates without question – we have to think for ourselves and do what is best for the 10th District and Williamson County.
I do not know how this journey will end, but I will appreciate your help, prayers, and kind words as move forward.”
Bill Petty’s campaign, the chosen Republican in the race, issued a statement about Williams decision to run for the seat, which is published below in full:
“The following statement was issued today by Bill Petty’s campaign. Mr. Petty is the Republican nominee in District 10’s open seat on the Williamson County Commission for the November 5 election. The statement is attributed to Don Beehler, a spokesman for Mr. Petty’s campaign.
On August 13, District 10 voters selected Bill Petty by a 2-1 margin for the Republican nominee to serve as Williamson County Commissioner for District 10. By any measure this election was a landslide, and we are grateful to the voters who supported him.
Our campaign team worked hard, but what really made the difference was Mr. Petty’s connection with District 10 voters, his listening to their concerns and his ability to identify and build on areas of agreement. Mr. Petty’s knowledge of the issues that matter to voters, especially the urgent need to get Williamson County’s $1.2 billion debt and growth under control, likewise, gained him support.
The next day Joe T. Williams, a bona fide Republican who voted in the August 13 convention, pulled a petition to run against Mr. Petty as an Independent.
His X/Twitter profile describes Mr. Williams as “Christian, husband, dad, writer, broadcaster, speaker, garbage man.” We look forward to learning more about Mr. Williams’ qualifications, knowledge of the issues and his approach to solving the many challenges our county faces.
While we have many questions about Mr. Williams and his candidacy, what we do know about him is that when he didn’t like the primary result, he immediately abandoned the Republican Party and joined another team.
Bill Petty is a team player who is loyal to his country, his community and his party. He is a Christian, husband, dad and grandfather. He also is a military veteran; a retired teacher and coach; and former owner of a construction company.
Mr. Petty is an effective problem solver, collaborator and communicator. He has pledged to listen respectfully to his District 10 residents, work with them to find solutions to the issues that are important to them and to represent all his constituents with integrity and transparency. He is engaged, qualified and trustworthy.
One of Mr. Williams broadcast partners for covering local high school football games is former Franklin Alderman Dana McLendon. In a June 17, 2021, Williamson Herald article, Mr. McLendon advised those seeking to become more engaged in their community to “Watch a city meeting.”
We think that is excellent advice, but did Mr. Williams follow it? After talking with a number of highly involved citizens, and even elected officials, no one can remember seeing Joe Williams at any local government meeting.
In the interests of transparency, we hope that Mr. Williams will disclose how many city, county, school board and election commission meetings he has attended in the past
year, and what he has learned from them that would help him be an effective county commissioner.
In contrast, for more than a year Mr. Petty has regularly attended BOMA, county commission, election commission, school board and budget meetings. Each Friday, he writes a weekly update for the community to keep them informed of developments. Through this engagement with the community, he has learned a great deal about the challenges in Williamson County and is ready to put a lifetime of experience, knowledge and skills to work addressing those challenges.
On his Facebook page, Mr. Williams claims that “compromise for the common good is not a dirty word.”
Historically, the words “the common good” have been used to justify all sorts of abuses, especially by governments, so the use of that term begs the question: Who defines what is “the
common good” for our community? Does this compromise include one’s principles?
Mr. Petty believes the voters are the best judges of what’s appropriate for the community.
We look forward to hearing Mr. Williams’ answers about how he defines what is the common good for Williamson County, his insights into how he would resolve differences of opinions about what constitutes “the common good” and what role he believes residents should play in making that determination. We also look forward to him providing specifics on what he believes are the key
issues for voters and how he plans to protect Williamson County’s quality of life and our children’s future.
For more information about Mr. Petty’s campaign, visit http://votebillpetty.com/”
A review of the petition Williams submitted with the obligatory signatures required for Williams to become an official candidate included signatures from D10 School Board Representative Eric Welch, and Franklin Alderman at Large Brandy Blanton.
Welch, a bona fide Republican, appears to be publicly supporting Williams, instead of supporting Petty, the chosen Republican candidate in the race.
The Tennessee Conservative reached out to Williams for comment and background information, and posed the following questions:
“What have you done professionally and what do you feel, in that experience, makes you the most qualified candidate?”
“What issues that face Williamson County were the primary reasons for you to go ahead and run as an Independent?”
“Of all the issues, which do you feel are the most challenging and what are your plans for tackling those challenges?”
Williams was also asked for a response to information that came from sources who indicated that he was offered the D10 seat prior to Cheryl Brown being offered the opportunity, but Williams declined the offer.
As this goes to press, there has been no response from Williams to any of those questions.
Brown was selected and appointed to the seat last month by all but 4 of the Williamson County Commission, but recently lost to Petty in a convention sponsored by the Williamson County GOP.
WCGOP decided to hold the caucus style event to give the voters an ability to choose their own representative.
Both Petty and Williams will appear on the November ballot for those residents in D10 to choose their desired representative on the Williamson County Commission.
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is an escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers, she has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. An outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty, Kelly also has a YouTube channel @Tennessee_Truth_Teller and is planning on expanding out to other channels soon. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
5 Responses
I’ve known Joe Williams most of my life. He is a stand up guy, a top notch sports commentator and a big advocate for high school sports. Although I’m a bit surprised at this recent news, I know that what ever Joe does, he immerses himself into it in a big way. I have no doubt that he would work hard as a county commissioner; However, this trust and confidence does not translate into a strong, county commissioner for the people. I suspect that despite his active role in ‘political affairs’ over his career with the City of Franklin, I have to wonder his motivation. Is he being encouraged by the ‘powerful’ that want to keep power? I hope Joe is not being used by these people. They may be a bit afraid of the recent trends in local politics and want to inject their agenda…this is what this looks like. Mr. Petty on the other hand has been tremendously active in our county as an advocate for the normal citizenry. He is a real conservative, but more importantly he is well informed. I think the powerful in our county, fear well spoken, well informed citizen, candidates like Mr. Petty. I wish the best for Joe, but I hope the citizens of the 10th District that want honesty, not agendas, will vote Bill Petty for their next county commissioner. They will not regret it.
And so Williamson County conservatives we have another day and another battle against The Great and The Good tepid conservatives who have controlled things in this county forever and are in an increasingly bad mood as they see that control slipping, slipping away. I don’t live in the 10th District, but I certainly want to accelerate that slippage every chance I get so I will send Bill Petty a significant campaign contribution and I hope other Williamson conservatives do so as well.
There is absolutely no doubt that Bill Petty is the right choice for the D10 County Commission seat. He is already engaged in exactly what he will be facing as a county commissioner. Been doing it for a year. County government decisions/issues, schools, elections, the city of Franklin… all there. He is definitely qualified. But the thing I like is his trustworthiness that sets him apart. I know I can trust him because of his character. He will make smart decisions that will not be guided by some establishment group who put him up to run or will tell him how to vote. He will listen to citizens, not politicians and make right decisions. ‘Bout time someone does that.
I agree with the comments. I’ve studied the Mayor’s proposed $325 million Jail – Juvenile Center Project since October 2023 and am convinced he heads a Political Machine and that most of the County Commissioners are Rubber Stamps. It’s a very weird project – Williamson County would have the most expensive Jail ever built in TN. They never talk about Facts – it’s like talking to a teenager. They want to build it in the Blasting Zone. There’s NO Factual Justification for the Huge Facilities they want to build. It’s VERY fishy.
I’ve been naive.
Bill Petty is a guy who will do what’s best for the taxpayers NOT what’s best for the Political Machine. That’s why they’re opposing him.
I donated to Bill.
Eric Welch is an extreme Lib – he wants CRT and all the Leftist stuff.
Curious timing surrounding this entire situation.
August 13th: Nomination convention concludes in the evening with the grassroots candidate winning the GOP nomination.
August 14th: Democrat candidate (who had previously pulled a petition to run on the November ballot) withdraws from the race.
August 14th: Joe Williams (who voted at the August 13th convention as a bona fide Republican) pulls a petition to run as an independent.
Conclusion: the WillCo political aristocracy is fearful of losing another controlled commission seat to the citizens of Williamson County and have gamed the system to put a controllable chess piece on the board. Both Republicans and Democrats should be incensed at this chicanery.