Republicans Question Sain – Pulse Transition at Monthly Meeting

The Hardeman County Republican Party held its regularly scheduled meeting, Tuesday October 11, 2022, at 6 p.m.

County Commissioner David Bell was welcomed as the first speaker of the evening and acknowledged there was a steep learning curve as a newly elected commissioner, “[I] am learning which end is up.” He noted that part of his learning process, and that of all new commissioners, was attending Tennessee state sponsored training. Additionally, he said the University of Tennessee has a dedicated Commissioners Committee which offers current commissioners a resource for questions about procedure, structure and legal proceedings. He did mention he has already availed himself of that resource.

Bell stated that the commission recently instituted a resolution regarding rules for meetings, “[Mayor] Todd Pulse introduced some rules, they were voted and approved so, now, 10 days prior to the commission’s [meeting] we will get a packet with all the information on all the subjects we will be discussing. That gives us time to know what’s going on.” He also mentioned there will now be a public comment period during Hardeman County Commissioners Meetings for those wishing to sign up and address the commission. “That right to petition is fundamental to our government,” according to Bell.

Some Hardeman County citizens presented concerns regarding rumors that previous Mayor Jimmy Sain had wiped computers clean, removed and/or destroyed government documents.

District Attorney Mark E. Davidson answered the audiences question about what allegedly occurred when Mayor Todd Pulse assumed office the first day, “to get straight to the question about governmental records. It can be an offense to tamper with, fabricate or destroy [sic] a governmental records… that is a knowing offense.’’ Davidson continued, as he educated those present, “…that is something that would need to be reported and investigated. We do not investigate crimes, we prosecute criminal cases that, for the most part, are brought to us, whether by your local police department, sheriff’s office, TBI [Tennessee Bureau of Investigations], highway patrol or federal law enforcement. We are a state department and we enforce state laws from misdemeanors all the way up to Class A murder.”

Davidson stated that Tennessee Code Annotated 39-16-504 deals with the destruction of and tampering with governmental records, but said, “not everything’s criminal, depending on what you’re doing.”

Davidson also addressed the drug problem across the 25th District saying “…methamphetamine is a real problem… the days of people cooking meth in a trailer – the one-pot method – are largely gone. What we see now is crystal meth that comes from across the border. It’s cheap, it’s potent, it’s everywhere. And now it’s, more and more often, laced with fentanyl, which increases its potency and can make it lethal – kill you.” He said there have been more than 15 deaths from fentanyl overdose in Fayette County alone, since May 2021; so they are focused on educating young people through a fentanyl awareness campaign in schools letting them know, “… that if you try methamphetamine, or some other drug, you might be getting fentanyl and it might kill you!”

The 25th Judicial District encompasses Tipton, Lauderdale, Fayette, Hardeman and McNairy counties. Davidson said their office also advises state government and they spend more time on advising against legislative actions than advocating for specific remedies, which was not the case previously.

Local dignitaries present at the meeting included; 25th Judicial District, District Attorney Mark E. Davidson (R); Assistant District Attorney – Hardeman County, Joe VanDyke; Hardeman County Commissioner David Bell (R); and Hornsby Mayor Megan Hedwall (R).

The Hardeman County Republican Party meets monthly and all are welcome to attend. More information may be found on their website hardemangop.com

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