Williamson County's District 10 voters will soon elect a new county commissioner between Republican nominee Bill Petty and independent challenger Joe Williams, an election that has also highlighted the ongoing debate about who is and isn't a “bona fide” Republican.
The seat is currently held by former Williamson County Republican Party Chair Cheryl Brown who was appointed by the Williamson County Commission in July to fill the temporary vacancy following the resignation of Commissioner David Landrum.
Brown will continue to serve in the role until the Nov. 5 election, having failed in her bid to earn the GOP nomination in August.
Petty, a first-time candidate who moved to Williamson County in 2022, said during the August convention that, if elected, he would confront the county's “uncontrolled growth." His website's stated electoral issues also include reducing the county's “out-of-control” debt and a pledge to “stave off nonessential property tax increases.”
“I think we're going to come to a crossroads at some point where we're going to have to decide how we want to continue if we want to keep taxes low,” Petty told The News. “Everybody loves low taxes, and I do too; nobody doesn't. So if you can't raise taxes, the only other option is to increase [our] debt.”
“I think I'm capable of looking at both sides of an issue and listening to what people have to say and taking people into consideration and taking them seriously,” Petty said. “I just don't sort of write people off for no reason at all, but if I disagree and I think I have a better approach, I'm certainly going to voice my opinion.”
If elected, Williams told The News that his main legislative priority will be “to keep things moving in the positive direction that they've continued to move [in,]" arguing that the county's debt level isn't unexpected or unmanageable for the wealth and economic strength of the county.
“We can talk about all these ‘sky is falling’ issues that aren't really skies falling issues,” Williams said. “Things are good here. They've been good, but that's because you've had folks who kept a good, tight grasp on purse strings and this kind of thing.”
“I will not say that I would never support a tax increase, but I'll tell you that the key to that is to be fiscally responsible, to hold it to a reasonable limit,” he said in an Oct. 2 Williamson Inc. election interview.
Williams framed himself as a conservative candidate, invoking his support and admiration of GOP icon for U.S. President Ronald Reagan, but called the current Williamson County GOP “fractured.”
“If you look at my voting record over the last 35 years, or better, 40 years, you'll see I probably would be considered a Republican,” Williams said.
The legitimacy or “bona fide” status of individual Republicans has been an ongoing debate in the party at all levels.
In September, the WCRP unanimously approved a resolution in that criticized some Williamson County Republicans, including Brown, for their support of Williams.
"The elected leadership of the Williamson County Republican Party simply believes that all elected Republicans in local and state government should be held to the same standard,” WCRP assistant treasurer Tim Raynaud, the author of the resolution, told The News.
“If they abandon the Party that elected them, and support its opponents in general elections, then their bona fide status should be removed. They forfeit all that the status affords, up to and including the ability to run as a Republican in the future."
“My whole thing is, it's time to calm down and just bring some common sense to find common ground,” Williams said of his bid.
“I have lived here 35 years, lived in this house for 30, and there have been times when people disagreed, but they still were friends," Williams said. "Now, if you disagree, you're an enemy. I don't get that; that's not how we built this community that everybody wants to come to.”
Williams ran an unsuccessful campaign for Williamson County School Board around 20 years ago and worked as director of Franklin’s Solid Waste Department from 1998-2008.
The Williamson County Democratic Party previously nominated its own candidate, Scott Layden, who withdrew his petition for the office, telling The News that while he felt that he “could solve some problems” he said that he “didn't have the infrastructure and connections that I felt [I needed] to hit the ground running and really mount an effective campaign.”
Layden didn't rule out a future run for elected office.
While the WCDP can't and isn't providing material support for Williams, they chose not to nominate another candidate and have signaled ideological support for Williams.
“We reviewed the positions of the independent candidate, Joe Williams, and determined his views on the issues that matter to District 10 voters align with ours,” WCDP Chair Peggy Kingsbury told The News.
“He has a long history in the county, a deep understanding of responsible growth with conservation of our natural resources, and understands that looking at matters without a political lens is best at the county level.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Republicans supporting non-Republican candidates is against the state and county GOP bylaws.
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