Franklin Civics 101
Franklin Tomorrow will host a “Franklin Civics 101” lecture, Monday, Aug. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Franklin City Hall to give citizens a glimpse into the workings of Franklin city government and the duties and responsibilities of the people who operate it. “With the upcoming October city elections for mayor and four seats for at-large aldermen, it is an opportune time to provide our community with an understanding of how our local government works,” said Franklin Tomorrow Executive Director Patrice Mayo. The lecture is free-of-charge and open to the public as part of Franklin Tomorrow’s New Growth, Deep Roots Lecture Series.
Doug Berry, former City Attorney, will discuss Franklin’s form of government in relation to types used by other cities in Tennessee. Former Franklin Alderman and current Williamson County Commissioner Steve Smith will offer information on the structure and operation of Franklin city government, describing the role and responsibilities of the elected mayor and aldermen. He will also explain the process of an aldermanic meeting and when citizen input is allowed and requested.
Franklin Finance Director Russ Truell will talk about how city government is funded and what the sources of its money are, as well as a brief description of the city’s demographics. Franklin City Administrator Jay Johnson will describe the services offered by the city to its residents.
Volunteers will be on hand to register attendees to vote. Franklin voters will head to the polls on Oct. 23 to elect a mayor and four at-large aldermanic candidates. Incumbent Mayor Tom Miller is being challenged in his reelection bid by John Schroer, chairman of the Franklin Special School District Board of Education. There are 15 candidates for four at-large aldermanic seats on the Oct. 23 ballot.
The candidates are Clyde Barnhill, Pearl Bransford, Gary Carrigan, Denny Denson, Mike Dunning, Mike Franklin, Greg Gaines, Scott N. Harrison, Robert Kriebel, Brian Miller, Ken Moore, Ann Petersen, Bob Rutherford, Dan Ryan, and Thomas Smithson.
Franklin Tomorrow is a non-profit community organization that communicates a shared and evolving Vision for the future of Franklin and focuses that Vision through education, advocacy, evaluation, implementation, and recognition of the Vision’s specific goals and strategies.
For more information call Franklin Tomorrow at 615.794.0998 or go to www.franklintomorrow.org.
