David Klein for District 6 County Commissioner

06/10/2026

I wish I could say this "saga" was over but it appears it is the gift that keeps on giving! I don't understand why we can't just work hard and get the people's business done! That is what we were elected to do. Some elected and/or hired officials (apparently) don't see it that way! Gaslighting and "Jockeying" for position seems to be more important to them. I don't have time for that nonsense, which is why you don't hear from me on Facebook posts that often. My joy comes from delivering what people are asking for. I am your servant! If you have questions you can always contact me by phone, text or email. That information is all on the county website! Please read commissioner Mansfield's reporting and also my statement on this post. The truth will set you free!

News Channel 2 ran a story ( https://tinyurl.com/2fz6r33m ) on the delays surrounding the Historic Latimer (Brown) Home, and County Mayor John Isbell and Director of Schools Scott Langford were each given space to respond. Let's set the record straight about this story, because it is quite the whopper, filled with partially accurate information presented in a grossly inaccurate manner. What these officials told the news does not match the record. So here is the truth, plainly, for the hardworking taxpayers of Sumner County who are owed it.

Make no mistake. This historic home has sat at the center of repeated misrepresentations, political gamesmanship, obfuscation, backroom deals, and the mishandling of money that was never theirs to redirect. Here is the documented reality.

1. $500,000 left by Mr. Brown for the home was wrongfully diverted. That money was given for one purpose, the historic preservation of the home. Instead, it was wrongfully taken and commingled with other funds, where it lawfully was never supposed to be.

2. The home's own money was then leveraged to fund a park that EXCLUDED the home. That same $500,000 intended for the Historic Latimer (Brown) Home was combined with $125,000 in taxpayer money to secure a $625,000 state grant for Langford's park that excluded the home. This was not simply a bait and switch. The grant's own documentation drew a boundary line around the historic home to EXCLUDE it, guaranteeing that not one dollar of that funding could ever be used to restore or preserve the very structure Mr. Brown's gift was meant for. Their own application drew the line. The intent is not a matter of opinion when it is written into the document. The Brown House was excluded from the TDEC-funded park improvement scope, and the recorded protected boundary excluded the house and 0.17 acres around it.

3. This was never about preserving history. The money was meant for the home, not a park, and the paperwork shows they understood that. Today the real cost of Langford's park would exceed $2 million, and still not one dollar has gone toward restoring the historic home.

For two years, Scott Langford and John Isbell misled the public and blocked the rightful return of these funds to the County. The County did not get the money back until late spring of 2025. Then our General Operations and Ad Hoc Committees came up with a plan with a scope, a budget, a timeline, an architect, a contractor, a defined public use, a stewardship organization, a site plan, a floor plan, and a rendering of the finished home. And for over a year since, Mayor Isbell and Director Langford have worked behind the scenes, with cooperating commissioners and county employees, to obfuscate this project as much as possible and stall it as long as possible.

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Now to their statements to News Channel 2.

They falsely claim I cost taxpayers a $625,000 grant. Here is the plain truth. They wrongfully confiscated the $500,000 that Mr. Brown left expressly for the home, combined it with $125,000 of your tax money, and used that $625,000 to leverage a matching $625,000 grant from the State. And what did all of it pay for? A park that physically surrounds the home and yet, by its own boundary lines, EXCLUDED the home from the park entirely. Not one dime went to the structure the money was given to save. Returning money that was wrongfully taken from the home is not a loss to taxpayers. It is the correction of a wrong.

They falsely claim I excluded the school board and the commission for four years. That is an outright falsehood, and the record disproves it. As the former Chairman of the General Operations Committee, I formed an ad hoc committee to move this County project forward, and that committee included the school board member who represents the Liberty Creek campus, along with several citizens, among them neighbors of Mr. Brown and direct descendants of Colonel Jonathan Latimer, whose son Charles Latimer built this home. For more than three years I worked alongside those citizens and fellow commissioners to carry out the clear and lawful intent of Mr. Brown's gift, against continuous resistance from the very officials now claiming to be shut out. At a later date, Director of Schools Scott Langford and Sumner County Mayor John Isbell were also added to the Ad Hoc, yet they NEVER attended any meetings. You do not exclude the school board by giving it a seat at the table. You do not exclude the public by inviting the donor's neighbors and the builder's own descendants into the room.

And the Mayor says he is "merely following the process," still awaiting a background check and a signed contract for a County project (NOTE: this is NOT a school project). Ask yourself this. Why does a $6,400 piece of exploratory demolition, on county property, by a contractor who already completed work on this very home twice in June of 2025 with no objection, suddenly require hurdles that no other county project faces? When the answer to every solved objection is simply a new objection, that is not process. That is obstruction.

The people of Sumner County are entitled to ask one plain question. The $625,000 grant they maneuvered to secure was drawn, by its own boundary, to EXCLUDE the home. Of the $1.25 million combined that this scheme put in play, not one dollar was ever spent on the home itself or to ever be allocated to the home. So after nine years, and with the proposed cost of Langford's park, that excludes the house, now exceeding $2 million, why has not a single dollar reached the very home all of it was supposed to be about?

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WHAT NEXT?

Here is what you can do. Attend the next General Operations Committee meeting and sign up to speak. Email the full Commission at [email protected] and tell them to stop stalling and let the approved, funded work begin. Watch the meetings yourself and share the truth with your neighbors. Sunlight remains the best disinfectant.

This home predates the State of Tennessee. It has stood for 230 years. It should not be sacrificed to protect anyone's ego or cover up anyone's mistakes. The County accepted a historic property with the understanding that the home would be preserved as the centerpiece of a future park. But the previous administration, school leadership, and commission allowed the $500,000 to be redirected into a state park grant that did not fund the home at all. The Brown House was not just overlooked. It was physically and legally drawn out of the TDEC grant project boundary. Not one dollar of that grant-funded scope went toward preserving the house.

At your service,
Jeremy

06/08/2026

I have said it before and I'll say it again! This has been one of the most frustrating "projects" I've tackled in my career and certainly the most frustrating as a commissioner. The knowledge of this park and this historic building was dropped on the General Operations Committee (I was chairman at the time) like a bomb in November of 2023. Since then the Mayor's office and School Superintendent (seemingly) have tried to stall the wishes of a man, who, on his deathbed created a codicil to his will. It gave $500,000.00 to the "County" to create a public park (named after he and his wife) using the house as the centerpiece. There were no specifics on the park besides that. Someone decided it would be an eighty-eight acre park, government matching grant was attained and at least $200,000.00 was spent on the design of this massive park. Strangely, not a penny was budgeted for any work on the house. The grant was cancelled and our committee went to work on the county commitment to receive the property and the money and execute the requests of a deceased man. Since then it has been an uphill battle to get anything done with it. Mr. Coker and I have crawled under the house, removed wall surfaces, gone through the attic, made drawings and budgets of the work to be done. Almost every time we think we will be starting a phase of re-construction we are stopped. The most current "problem" is that the mayor (possibly inspired by the school superintendent) is requiring a background check on anyone who works on the property! This, in spite of the fact that it is a "Public Park" on public property. We have a legal opinion by our county attorney stating that the background check is unnecessary.

Commissioner Mansfield has indicated "things you can do to help" and where you can email to help us move this forward. It was our great hope that this wonderful old piece of history would be completed by the 250 year celebration of our Declaration of Independence. That's all but impossible now. It's fairly evident the mayor is stalling until the changeover of the commission in September, when he'll have a different commission who will be more favorable to all of his plans. What those plans are for the house and the park, it's hard to know.

05/11/2026

This has been one of the most frustrating projects (out of many frustrating projects) of my entire time on this county commission! We had specifically voted on the work to be done by a certain historic renovation contractor to do the work; provided his price remain under the required $10,000.00 limit that would enable it to be NOT PUT OUT TO BID. The reason it is so important that this particular "renovator" do the work is because when you're dealing with a 235 year old historic building you MUST have a knowledgeable person who understands structure and construction techniques of the period. I (as an experienced builder and renovator) have been under, inside and through the attic of this precious gem of a building with Mr. Coker and trust his knowledge and experience implicitly. You cannot allow just any demolition crew to come in and do this work! But here we are, once again, delaying this project. For what purpose... I don't know! It's hard to not think there is nefarious intent!

Just a quick update on where things stand with the house. The GenOps Committee met this past Monday. It was proposed that the current ADHOc Committee be dissolved. This motion passed by a vote of 4 to 3. The ADHOc had done some positive work in planning for the preservation of this historic structure. Commissioners Genung, Klein, and Jones mentioned this, and proposed keeping it in place. Such was not to be. The GenOps Committee will now handle things going forward. I trust that preservation of the home will be the guiding principle behind any moves they make.

The next GenOps meeting will be held on June 1, at the Belvedere Administration building. The architectural firm will be there to present their further refined plans for the project. This home can be a historical centerpiece in our community, something that future generations can experience and learn from. I would encourage anyone interested in seeing it preserved attend these upcoming meetings, and voice their opinions.

04/15/2026

Do you consider yourself a strong conservative?
Do you consider yourself a strong Republican?
Do you plan to vote in the May 5th Republican primary?

Voting in the primary can matter more than the general election. It is where the degree of conservatism happens. In Tennessee, democrats vote in the Republican primaries to pick the LEAST conservative Republican candidate. This is why we have RINOs in Tennessee.
If you consider yourself a patriot,
If you are sick of a “supermajority” that does nothing to move the conservative needle,
If you are tired of the “good ole boy” network funded by super PACs (political action committees) such as the fake ”…Freedom Caucus”
Please go vote!!!
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04/11/2026

My entire time as a commissioner, my affiliation with a group of like minded (God fearing) Republicans was questioned, attacked and vilified. That group was relentlessly attacked, brought into a lawsuit and accused of every horrid thing one can imagine. The final result of the "attackers" was to create the PAC that commissioner Jones has written about below. Their goal is to destroy anyone who opposes their agenda. In January of 2024 (just pryor to the elections of half of the Sumner County School Board) they launched the organization with a donor supplied + or - $75,000. The attack mailers, texts and phone calls from professional soliciting companies came fast and furious. All of their candidates won the school board, the state senate and one judge position. Since then, that war chest has grown to over $350,000.00. This is all public information that can be found at the following website: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/ On this list is also the name of every donor and every recipient of funds. If you are concerned about out of control growth, gridlock traffic and rising property taxes, you would do well to visit the link above and see who is giving to and receiving from this PAC. It will definitely affect the way you vote on May 5th! Stay tuned for more updates regarding "The Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus".

02/19/2026

Please watch the interview with Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield. This is a very important issue that continues to come up over and over. "Property Rights" in the United States MUST remain sacred!

Thanks to Matt Murphy for having me on 99.7 WTN to talk about what’s happening with the TVA seeking to disrupt the operations of a Founding Era family farm.W...

02/08/2026

I appreciate Commissioner Mansfield taking the time to go out to the Gregory farm, learn the history and record a video. Our farms are so vitally important to our country and the world. To unnecessarily disrupt the operation and historic value of this farm (with eight generations of family operation) is not only unnecessary (because of alternate available routes) but lacks respect for the jewel that this farm is. Please use the addresses located below to voice your opinions to your elected officials and lets ask TVA to use one of the other designs that will be less impactive to the land (in general) and specifically this family farm.

01/09/2026

Recently Hendersonville Mayor (Jamie Clary) published a piece to his followers, that is so “one-sided” and lacking in transparency and basic honesty, that commissioner Jeremy Mansfield and I could not (in good conscience) allow it to go unchallenged. Please read (Mayor Requests Money…) below for context.

I don’t know what provoked this document. Perhaps the mayor is trying to convince his fans that he is “fighting” for the citizens of Hendersonville. That’s all fine and dandy but in his effort to justify his argument, he is attempting to create villains where there are none (County Commission, General Operations Committee, Library Board, Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, Jeremy Mansfield and myself). Every good story needs a “Nemesis”. However, this is not a story, and projecting “villains” is unnecessary and counterproductive! We are the elected servants of the people, and our entire goal should be only to work together to make everything run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

That is exactly what the county (through the General Operations Committee) has been trying to do over roughly 2 ½ years of back and forth dialogue. Almost everybody agrees the Resolution (1504-02) is “vague and ambiguous” and needs to be much more specific. That being said the library is owned 50/50 (County and Hendersonville) and common sense might dictate financial responsibilities should follow the same ratio! To date responsibilities haven’t been even close. The county has been funding the Lion’s share!

Commissioner Mansfield’s well documented rebuttal (below) details the facts that mayor Clary has left out. I hope you will read Jeremy’s entire piece but I will state it briefly:
- The money belongs to the Hendersonville Library. That will not change!
- The entity to decide on the use of that money is the Library Board, not the county commission or the City. That Board has not decided on how to use the money yet.
- Spending the money to increase operational hours is folly. One time money should never be allocated for recurring expenditures.
- The County has presented three good options to the city of Hendersonville.
1.) The County takes ownership and all financial and other responsibility for the library.
2.) The city takes ownership and all financial and other responsibility for the library.
3.) Ownership status remains the same and we redefine financial responsibilities.

In my opinion, what we currently have is not working, yet that is where mayor Clary wants to remain. Effectively what he is saying is, “Shut up and hand over the money”. That doesn’t work for me, and it shouldn’t work for you either!

Mayor Requests Money that County Withholds for Hendersonville Library
A little more than a year ago, a Hendersonville resident's will provided $321,000 to the Hendersonville library.
Even though the library is owned equally by the City and the County, the Sumner County Commission deposited checks for the full amount and has refused to respond to the city's requests.
In January the county general operations committee was told by chairman Jeremy Mansfield that the committee could not decide how the funds would be used.
He and Commissioner David Klein (pictured below) led the committee to recommend that the county commission accept the money and decide later how to use it. That still has not happened while the money generates interest from county coffers.
"This is not about what we are going to do with the money," said Mansfield. "That's not up for discussion tonight."
The county library board refused to designate the funds. When the county commission set the budget, the funds were not appropriated for the Hendersonville library.
For years Hendersonville Mayor Jamie Clary and the city board have requested that the Hendersonville library be open at least as much as the Gallatin library.
Both libraries are operated by the County. Gallatin is open 44 hours per week; Hendersonville is open 40 hours per week.
The county commission and library board have refused the city's repeated requests even as the City has offered additional funds.
Since Clary became aware of the bequest in 2024, he has sent multiple letters and emails to county officials. Clary has asked that half the bequest be sent to the City or used to add more operating hours for the Hendersonville library.
The chairman and other members of the library board who were appointed for their affiliation with the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans have said that additional hours are not wanted.
The bequest would provide eight additional operating hours for three years.
Clary sent another letter and email to the county library board in early December, but has not received a response.

12/04/2025

Vic Flanagan is the latest puppet of the Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus to vilify the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans with outrageous accusations, name calling and outright lies. A little math added to review of the Tennessee State Website https://www.tn.gov/tref.html will show you that Vic has donated over $8,000.00 to the organization. Far from the largest contributor, one should ask himself what Mr. Flanagan's motives are. His accusations regarding the SCCR's "design" to ruin Sumner County Schools can be easily dispelled by noting that the County Commission has absolutely no control of "Teacher Pay". That is decided by the school superintendent at the behest of the elected school board. Sumner Schools currently take the vast majority of property taxes! Last year the "Maintenance of Effort" (MOE) amount was about $140,000,000.00! When I became a commissioner in 2022, that amount was $126,000,000.00 Combine the current amount with the state and federal contributions and you have a school budget of roughly $400,000,000.00. To put that in perspective it's about double the county budget. Furthermore, last year when the commission voted to increase the MOE by over $6,000,000.00, school board member (Steven King) begged us not to do it as that very same night, Sumner Schools would request we take the $17,000,000.00 tax dollars that was left over from the previous year and put it in the "Reserve Fund". Against Mr. King's plea, both motions were approved! Now, $143,000,000.00 of YOUR TAX DOLLARS are in a reserve fund that shouldn't have any more than about $20,000,000.00 in it. These are the dirty little secrets Mr. Flanagan will not tell you. The "Freedom Caucus" PAC, to date, has taken in over $300,000.00 to (by their own words) destroy the SCCR. The SCCR PAC has taken in $ 0.00! Every one of us financed our own campaigns by going door to door and winning over the voters with our common sense logic, honesty and integrity. If you look through the names on the above mentioned Tennessee State Website you'll see individuals who have contributed from $1,000.00 to $60,000.00! Why would anybody do that? Look up the names and it will become obvious... Power! So if you're approached by anyone (like Mr. Flanagan) from the "Freedom Caucus" understand what you're dealing with. As usual, commissioner Mansfield's facts are "Right on the Mark" so please read it all and understand what we are up against in this upcoming election cycle!

10/21/2025

Steven King has become a good friend and I find him to be a very honest broker of truth. Tonight is an important event in our county as our director of schools is up for an employment contract renewal as well as a $25,000.00 increase in pay. I don't know the director well but as a commissioner I have been very frustrated with him on several occasions regarding commitments he has made to provide information that ultimately never came. Most of these commitments are on video and at some point I hope to do a "deep dive" on my experience with him. From his $40,000.00 office remodel to the bleachers that could have been repaired at a fraction of the cost of what the county taxpayers spent on the new facilities, I have been disappointed and dismayed at his lack of concern for the public money. He has repeatedly promised to address a flooding issue to neighbors of the Liberty Creek School System but never followed up. Most recently, the county commission approved a lease for 65,000 square feet of commercial buildings for an "Innovation Center". I completely believe in the concept but could not (in good conscience) vote to approve a triple net lease without a pro forma or business plan on what the thing was going to cost to create, operate or a timeline for its development. Twice (in public) he promised to provide something that the commission could analyze. It never came and the commission (by majority vote) approved the $4.2 million ten year lease anyway. Frankly, with the experience I have with him, I don't know how he keeps his job. If you are interested in speaking or listening to the debate tonight, I encourage you to attend the meeting tonight at 6:00 PM at 695 East Main Street, Gallatin, TN.

When the Sumner County Director of Schools publicly calls parents and citizens “fascists,” is that acceptable conduct for someone entrusted with an office that demands the highest integrity and public trust? In light of the recent political violence associated with the term “fascist,” using ...