The Tap: Thursday, August 4, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #28 of The Tap, which was published on August 6, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Tennessee held congressional primaries.
  • There is no U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in 2016.
  • Tennessee has nine U.S. House districts. The Republican Party currently holds seven seats to the Democratic Party’s two. Eight of the nine incumbents are seeking re-election, and five faced at least one primary challenger. Each incumbent who faced a primary challenge advanced to the general election. Each House seat is rated safe for the party that currently holds it in the general election.
  • Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District is the only open seat. Incumbent Stephen Lee Fincher (R) chose not to seek re-election in 2016. The open seat drew 20 candidates to the race: 13 Republicans, two Democrats, and five independents. David Kustoff won the Republican primary, while Rickey Hobson defeated Gregory Alan Frye to win the Democratic nomination. The race is rated safely Republican in the general election.

• [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Personal|Melania Trump]] responded to criticism that her immigration history, particularly whether she worked in 1995 on a short-term visa, was accurate. She said in a statement, “In recent days there has been a lot of inaccurate reporting and misinformation concerning my immigration status back in 1996. Let me set the record straight: I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue. In July 2006, I proudly became a U.S. citizen. Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to live, work and raise a family in this great nation and I share my husband’s love for our country.”

• American Action Forum, a self-described “center-right policy institute,” released a report finding that Hillary Clinton’s policy proposals would lead to a $1.3 trillion increase in taxes and a deficit of $2.2 trillion.

State

• Primary election: Tennessee
  • State legislature: There are 16 state Senate seats and 99 state House seats up for election. Thirty-four incumbents—eight Democrats and 26 Republicans—faced primary competition. Representatives Jeremy Durham (R-65) and Curry Todd (R-95) were defeated by primary opponents. Republicans hold significant majorities in both chambers. Tennessee’s governor, Bill Haslam, is a Republican, making the state one of 23 Republican state government trifectas.
    • On August 2, 2016, District 95 Representative Curry Todd was arrested after stealing the campaign signs of Mark Lovell, his opponent, from lawns. After Todd avoided meeting with the sheriff’s office several times, a warrant for theft under $500 was put out and Todd was arrested at his residence. Two days after the arrest, Lovell defeated state Rep. Todd in the Republican primary by a 56-19 margin.
    • Sam Whitson defeated state Rep. Jeremy Durham (R) in the Republican primary by a 80-14 margin. Durham suspended his campaign in mid-July after the state attorney general's office released a report that found that Durham had inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women affiliated with the legislature.
  • State judiciary: Ten judges on Tennessee’s three appellate courts won retention. On the Tennessee Supreme Court, Justices Jeff Bivins and Holly Kirby won retention to full eight-year terms; Justice Roger A. Page won retention to complete the term of his predecessor, which expires in 2022. On the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Judges Brandon Gibson and Arnold Goldin won retention to full eight-year terms; Judge Kenny Armstrong won retention to complete the term of his predecessor, which expires in 2022. On the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judges Timothy L. Easter and Robert H. Montgomery won retention to full eight-year terms. Judges Robert Holloway and J. Ross Dyer won retention to complete the unexpired terms of their predecessors, which expire in 2022. Judicial selection in Tennessee is through the assisted appointment method, with confirmation by the state legislature. Judges stand for retention thereafter.
• Signatures submitted: Colorado
  • Yes on Colorado End-of-Life Options submitted over 160,000 signatures for the Colorado Medical Aid in Dying Initiative (I-145). Initiative 145 would make assisted death legal among patients with a terminal illness who receive a prognosis of death within six months. Supporters needed to gather at least 98,492 valid signatures by August 8 to qualify for the November 8 ballot. Supporters of at least 15 other potential measures are still collecting signatures. These initiatives cover topics such as government accountability, the environment, taxes, and gambling. Three measures have already been certified for the ballot: Amendment 69, Amendment T, and Amendment U.
• The Nevada Supreme Court removed Question 5 from the November ballot. The court ruled that the petition’s description was "inaccurate," "misleading," and "argumentative." The referendum would have retained or repealed the section of Senate Bill 374 that established a fixed fee for solar customers that differed from the fixed fee for other ratepayers. Four measures are still on the ballot. Question 1 would require that an unlicensed person who wishes to sell or transfer a firearm to another person conduct the transfer through a licensed gun dealer who runs a background check. Question 2 would legalize marijuana for adults and put the tax revenue from the sale of the drug toward education funding. Question 3 would make electricity markets open and minimize the regulatory burden. And Question 4 would require that certain types of equipment—including durable medical equipment, mobility enhancing equipment, and oxygen delivering equipment—be exempt from the sales and use tax.

Local

• Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva (R) was arrested in Amador County, California, on multiple charges involving at least one minor. According to court records, the mayor was charged with eavesdropping or recording confidential communications, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor, and cruelty to a child by endangering health. The charges stem from a strip poker game the mayor allegedly held with teen counselors at his youth camp in August 2015. The evidence for this arrest dates to a 2015 FBI investigation following the seizure of Silva’s cell phone by Homeland Security investigators after a flight from China to San Francisco. The investigators found 23 photographs and four video clips from the youth camp on Silva’s phone. Stockton is the 64th-largest city in the United States by population and the 13th-largest in California.
  • Mayor Silva is slated to appear in the general election against challenger Michael Tubbs (D) on November 8, 2016. Tubbs surpassed Silva in the primary election by 7 percentage points, and another victory in the general election would return City Hall to Democratic control. At the beginning of 2016, 27 of the mayors in America’s largest 100 cities were affiliated with the Republican Party. Click here for Ballotpedia's coverage of mayoral partisanship in America's 100 largest cities.
• Tennessee held general elections for seven circuit court judgeships, two chancery court judgeships, two criminal court judgeships, and three general sessions court judgeships. Division III of the Sumner County General Sessions Court and Part IV of the Nineteenth Circuit Court were unique races, as they were the only two local judicial seats in the state up for election in 2016 not due to vacancies. Both of the seats were created in 2015. The terms won in this election were shortened to six years to bring the seats into alignment with the regular eight-year election cycle for judges.
• Tennessee held general elections for 80 school board seats across the state’s 19 largest school districts, as measured by student enrollment. The largest of these school districts was Shelby County Schools, which served 149,832 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The second-largest school district in the state is Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, which served 82,806 students during the 2013-2014 school year. Five of nine seats on the Metropolitan Nashville school board were up for by-district election. These 19 districts served 604,366 students during the 2013-2014 school year, which was 60.8 percent of all Tennessee public school students.
  • On June 14, 2016, six of the Metropolitan Nashville school board members voted to approve a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee over public education funding. Of these six members, four were up for re-election in 2016. District 5 incumbent Elissa Kim, who abstained from voting on the potential lawsuit, did not file for re-election.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #27 of The Tap, which was published on July 30, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Tennessee will hold congressional primaries.
  • There is no U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in 2016.
  • Tennessee has nine U.S. House districts. The Republican Party currently holds seven seats to the Democratic Party’s two. Eight of the nine incumbents are seeking re-election, and five will face at least one primary challenger. Each House seat is rated safe for the party that currently holds it in the general election.
  • Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District is the only open seat. Incumbent Stephen Lee Fincher (R) chose not to seek re-election in 2016. The open seat drew 20 candidates to the race: 13 Republicans, two Democrats, and five independents. The race is rated safely Republican in the general election.

State

• Primary election: Tennessee
  • State legislature: There are 33 state Senate seats and 99 state House seats up for election. Thirty-four incumbents—eight Democrats and 26 Republicans—are facing primary competition. Republicans hold significant majorities in both chambers. Tennessee’s governor, Bill Haslam, is a Republican, making the state one of 23 Republican state government trifectas.
  • State judiciary: Three Tennessee Supreme Court justices, three Tennessee Court of Appeals judges, and four Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals judges are standing for retention. Judges in Tennessee are appointed by the governor with confirmation by the legislature and then stand for retention during the next general election following appointment. Justices Holly Kirby and Jeff Bivins were appointed in 2014 and retained in the 2014 elections to finish the terms of their predecessors, and now they stand for retention to full eight-year terms. Justice Roger Page was appointed in 2015 and is standing for retention to finish his predecessor’s term, which will expire in 2022. All three were appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R), creating a 3-2 Republican-appointed majority of justices on the court.
  • Tennessee has two intermediate appellate courts. The state court of appeals hears appeals of civil cases, while the state court of criminal appeals hears appeals of criminal cases. Judges Kenny Armstrong, Brandon Gibson, and Arnold Goldin of the court of appeals and Judges J. Ross Dyer, Timothy Easter, Robert Holloway, and Robert Montgomery of the court of criminal appeals will also stand for retention.

Local

• Tennessee will hold general elections for seven circuit court judgeships, two chancery court judgeships, two criminal court judgeships, and three general sessions court judgeships. Division III of the Sumner County General Sessions Court and Part IV of the Nineteenth Circuit Court are unique races, as they are the only two local judicial seats in the state up for election in 2016 not due to vacancies. Both of the seats were created in 2015. The terms won in this election will be shortened to six years to bring the seats into alignment with the regular eight-year election cycle for judges.
• Tennessee will hold general elections for 80 school board seats across the state’s 19 largest school districts, as measured by student enrollment. The largest of these school districts is Shelby County Schools, which served 149,832 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The second largest school district in the state is Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, which served 82,806 students during the 2013-2014 school year. Five of nine seats on the Metropolitan Nashville school board are up for by-district election.
  • On June 14, 2016, six of the Metropolitan Nashville school board members voted to approve a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee over public education funding. Of these six members, four are up for re-election in 2016. District 5 incumbent Elissa Kim, who abstained from voting on the potential lawsuit, did not file for re-election.