Jeremy Mansfield, Sumner County Commissioner

09/14/2026

To the hardworking taxpayers of Sumner County, I'll have a larger recap at a later date, but looking at the actions of County Mayor John Isbell and his new Commission, and even incumbents, regarding wiping out members from the Planning Commission in an unprecedented move, increasing fast paced approvals for more Development and Growth, the limitation of citizens to express their 1st amendment rights and petition their government for a redress of grievances, stopping and limiting any opposing debate by commissioners, etc., this is perhaps shaping up to be the most TYRANNICAL Commission I have seen in Sumner County. It's bad folks. More to come ...

09/11/2026

In the wake of the 25th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, the phrase "out of the blue" takes on a whole new meaning, as we remember one of the worst acts of terrorism committed on American soil. On that terrible morning, "out of the blue," 19 Islamic Jihadists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and almost to the White House, killing approximately 3,000 people and forever changing the lives of a nation.

On this solemn Anniversary of 9/11, we should never forget that there are forces of evil still intent on harming our country and our communities any chance they can get. We must never stop being vigilant in protecting our borders and national sovereignty and protecting our Constitutional processes put in place to keep American citizens safe, first and foremost. We must never forget the first responders (firemen, policemen, and medics) who heroically raced toward the danger, many of whom never made it back out alive. We must never forget our soldiers, sailors, and airmen who have bled and died in the Middle East, fighting back against the destructive wave of Islamic Jihadism that crashed against our shores. Like our Founders, they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to preserve the liberties so preciously fought and paid for by the blood of our Founders and countrymen.

We must never forget that the chief aim of acts of Islamic Jihadism, whether domestically instigated or by foreign sources, is FEAR. Fear is paralyzing. Fear is controlling. Fear is manipulative. FEAR is our ENEMY. Hermann Goering, when asked this question at his Nuremberg Trial, "How did you convince the German people to accept all this?" he replied, "It was easy and had nothing to do with Na**sm. The only thing a government needs to turn people into slaves is FEAR. If you can find something to scare them, you can make them do anything you want."

Because of our Judeo-Christian foundations and Biblically-based Constitutional moorings, America has been a beacon of freedom and liberty to the tyrannized and oppressed for over 250 years. However, America is in a Constitutional crisis and at a dangerous crossroads. Our Constitutional moorings are being battered by relentless waves of FEAR, tyranny, and lawlessness. Our enemies, domestic and foreign, are seeking ways to crash over our shores, once again. Like a roaring lion, they attempt to paralyze their prey with fear, allowing them to devour those who come under the hypnotic spell of their fear-based messaging.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated at his first inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." In a WW2 speech to the battered British public during the "Battle of Britain," Winston Churchill famously implored his citizens to "Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy".

As Americans, we must never give in to fear. Never, never, never, never. We must remain resolute, steadfast, and unwavering in our commitment to the defense of our Federal and State Constitutions. The Constitution is never suspended in a time of crisis. Whether that is an act of war or whether it's waves of paralyzing fear induced by a virus. We must remain steadfast to remember the Providential guidance granted to our Founders that caused our great nation to come into being.

We must always remember. We must never forget. 🇺🇸

09/05/2026

Happy SEC football 🏈 Saturday! Who’s your favorite team? GOVOLS! 🍊

09/05/2026

Heads up Gallatin, TN, for some more shenanigans from the nasty SCRFC (Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus) PAC men.

09/02/2026

WHAT HAPPENED ON NIGHT ONE

Before the organizational meeting of this new Commission on September 1, 2026, every commissioner filled out a preference form ranking the committees where they believed they could serve best. Outgoing Chairman Jerry Becker built a slate from those forms and published it. It went on the county website and into the agenda packet ahead of the meeting, a matter of public record, available to any citizen who wanted to read it before the vote instead of after. By Commissioner Jones's account, it was fair. Every member got at least two of their three choices.

Then Commissioner Mark Harrison produced a different slate. It was not on the website. It was not in the packet. There was no notice, no committee process, and no explanation. A complete, pre-written list that reassigned seats across the entire body, handed out in the room, and it passed.

The result: the 23rd District of Sumner County was left off every standing committee. The one appointment offered was the B**r Board, given to a man whose religious convictions against that service are a matter of public record, and to a pastor with the same reservations.

That was not an oversight. Nobody assembles a full alternate slate by accident on the walk from the parking lot.

Now look at who did get seated. On the same slate that left Commissioner Jones with nothing, a Democrat endorsed by Planned Parenthood, was placed on two committees. Read that again. A Republican majority, elected on so-called "conservative values," stripped a conservative Republican of every committee he had worked on and handed two seats to a Planned Parenthood endorsed Democrat.

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WHO PAID FOR THIS MAJORITY?

The Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus PAC has raised close to $400,000, and campaign finance filings show most of it came from developers, builders, realtors, and the construction industry. Money like that is not charity. It is a purchase order. The people who wrote those checks want a Commission that approves rooftops and raises your taxes to pay for the schools, roads, and sewers those rooftops require. Step one of delivering that is making sure the commissioners who actually read contracts and ask hard questions never see a committee again.

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THE QUESTION THEY NEED TO ANSWER

Commissioner Jones asked from the floor who brought the slate. Commissioner Harrison admitted it was his. That answers one question and opens the rest of them.

One slate was published for the public to see. The other appeared in the room with a majority already behind it. That majority came from somewhere. And it wasn't assembled from newcomers like the previous Commission. Commissioner Harrison is an incumbent, and so are many of the members who carried that slate with him.

Tennessee Code Annotated 8-44-102(c) prohibits two or more members of a governing body from using any informal assemblage, chance meeting, or electronic communication to deliberate public business in circumvention of the Open Meetings Act. A finished slate reallocating seats across twenty-four districts required agreement among a majority, including many current commissioners, before that gavel ever fell.

So the questions are these. Who was consulted, and when? By what method? Because if that count was assembled in text messages and phone calls, the public business of this county was decided before the public was ever in the room, and 8-44-106 gives any citizen of Sumner County standing to go to court about it.

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HOW THE LAST COMMISSION DID IT

I served on the Committee on Committees and chaired it. The first thing I did was move the meeting a full week ahead of the Full Commission so citizens could read the names before the vote, not after. I required a resume and background information for every nominee.

And when we seated committees, we gave commissioners who opposed us on the floor seats of substance.

Which is what makes Monday night indefensible on its own terms. Tim Jones has years of work in General Operations, the committee that decides construction projects and controls county buildings. Everyone in that room knows what he brings to it. He asked for it, he earned it, and he was given nothing.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO

Watch this Commission. Not the highlight clips, the meetings. Email your commissioner and ask, by name, how he voted on that slate and why. Show up on the third Monday at 7:00 p.m. and sign up to speak, because the public comment protections are still in those rules and they only matter if somebody uses them. And write down who did this, because in 2030 the receipts will still be there.

Take interest in your government before your government takes an interest in you. Commissioner Jones is right about that.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬

I was very honored to be sworn in as the representative for Sumner County’s 23rd district last night. I was unopposed in the Republican primary which means a lot to me. With 67% of the vote in the general election, I feel like my constituents trust me to vote their conservative values.

In 2022 I came in with a citizen led movement to make change and disrupt the establishment steamroller that has been crushing the people of this county. I was on a mission to slow growth, stop tax increases and to move the needle back towards the center (which requires a strong push to the right). We accomplished a lot of those goals while maintaining sustainable and competitive raises for county employees. I knew going into this new commission things would be different. Many of the 2022 citizen led majority retired after one term. I get it, it takes a toll. The personal attacks are very difficult to weather even with a strong family and friend support group.

Prior to last night’s meeting all commissioners filled out forms to choose what committees they feel they would best serve. My preference and past experience makes General Operations my clear choice. That committee makes decisions on construction projects and how best to use, and is in control of county buildings. I have done a lot of work in this committee, along with Jeremy Mansfield, Sumner County Commissioner and David Klein for District 6 County Commissioner who are no longer serving.

A slate of suggested committees was put out by our outgoing Commission Chairman Jerry Becker. It was fair, everyone got at least 2 of their 3 choices of committees. Then out of nowhere a new slate of candidates was supplied by commissioner Mark Harrison without prior notice. This was a list comprised of current and new commissioners. It was very different than the one that was populated by the commissioners. On this new list I was appointed to ZERO committees except for one, the B**r board, which was clearly meant to be a shot to my known stance to not serve on this board. I have personal convictions due to my Nazarene beliefs that would make service on this board a conflict of interest. I would prefer a commissioner with different personal convictions to serve on that board. Nonetheless, Commissioner Harrison’s list had me and a commissioner, who is a pastor with similar reservations, placed on the B**r board. I have more critical comments to that action that I will just keep to myself. A few commissioners lobbied to put me on General Operations committee and testified to my work ethic and tenacity on that committee. Thank you to Jerry Becker, Don Schmit Sumner County Commissioner District 18 Matthew Shoaf - Sumner County District 22 Commissioner There were a few new commissioners that broke rank and supported me with their vote and I thank you for that. It shows me that 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨. This gives me some hope. I get it though, I ask a lot of questions. I sharpen the pencil to try to find more cost effective ways to govern, I look at plans and contracts to get the best deal for the people of Sumner County. This makes meetings last long and some do not have the patience or vigor. To them I say go home, take your Geritol and go to bed early. We do not need you to serve in any capacity. In the end 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨. 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞. While I do not like this for my constituents sake, I will wear it as a badge of honor. I do not “𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞” with the establishment cabal.

I will stay engaged and be outspoken from the floor of the commission. I hear the citizens voices and will not stop fighting to represent you. It will just look different now. Watch this commission closely. Instruct your commissioner how to vote. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

09/01/2026

LAWLESSNESS AND LEGISLATING FROM THE BENCH

What follows is a documented record of lawlessness, institutional failure, and a judiciary that acknowledged the law and then refused to allow it to be enforced.

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HOW THE LAW WAS BROKEN

The breakdown began with the illegal seizure of county property.

Former County Mayor Anthony Holt directed tenants out of the TRC building without a vote of the County Commission. He did not have that authority. The County Legislative Body never authorized the removal of those tenants. The result was immediate and measurable. Sumner County lost approximately $200,000 per year in rental revenue. That alone was unlawful. But it did not stop there.

The Sumner County Election Commission then moved itself into the TRC building without authorization from the County Commission, occupying space the Commission never designated for their use. No vote. No lease. No approval. Just occupation.

Under Tennessee law, that authority belongs to the County Legislative Body. Not the Election Commission. Not the County Mayor. Not a judge.

Yet the Election Commission proceeded anyway.

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ESCALATION, NOT COMPLIANCE

Rather than comply with state law when directed to vacate, the Election Commission escalated. It sued the County Commission in an attempt to usurp legislative authority it does not possess.

An appointed body sued the elected legislative body of the county to retain control of property it was never authorized to occupy.

That lawsuit was not about elections. It was about power.

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WHAT THE COURT ACTUALLY RULED

In Sumner County Election Commission v. Board of Commissioners of Sumner County, Chancellor Louis W. Oliver III ruled clearly and unambiguously:

“The County Commission has the overall power to designate which county departments or entities may occupy specific properties owned or controlled by Sumner County.”

That ruling affirmed exactly what Tennessee statutes say. Only the County Legislative Body controls county property.

The Court also rejected the County Mayor’s claim of authority and confirmed the legal distinction between custody and control. Custody belongs to the mayor. Control belongs to the Commission.

So far, the law was applied correctly.

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WHERE THE JUDGE WENT OFF THE RAILS

After affirming the County Commission’s authority as a matter of law, the Court blocked the Commission from exercising that authority.

A Temporary Injunction was left in place that prevented enforcement of the Commission’s lawful directive. Not because the law was unclear. Not because the Commission lacked authority. But because the Court decided it did not like the timing.

That is not judicial restraint. That is legislating from the bench.

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LAW DIRECTOR'S CONCLUSION

The Order correctly affirmed the County Commission’s statutory authority to control and direct county property. However, the continued injunction directly contradicts that ruling. It strips authority from the legislative body and places Chancellor Oliver in a legislative role. That exceeds the proper scope of judicial authority. For that reason, an appeal was recommended.

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PATTERNS OF MISCONDUCT

This same Election Commission and its Administrator, Lori Atchley, have a documented record that includes:

- Illegal relocation and occupation of county property
- Ex*****on of contracts without County Commission approval
- Violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act
- False and misleading statements to the County Commission
- Malicious litigation against the legislative body
- Criminal charges for theft and domestic assault
- A last-minute pre-trial diversion approved by the District Attorney that prevented a jury trial and public accountability

At every stage, accountability was avoided. Authority was ignored. The law was bent or bypassed.

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THE BOTTOM LINE

The 2022-2026 County Commission acted within the law. The statutes are clear. The Court acknowledged that fact.

And yet the law remains unenforced.

The Election Commission continues to occupy a building it was never authorized to use. The County Mayor continues to confuse custody with control. And a court acknowledged the law, then, in violation of the law, restrained its lawful enforcement.

This is not confusion. This is not a disagreement over interpretation. This is institutional lawlessness by a sitting Administrator of Elections and sitting Chancellor.

And the public deserves to know exactly who allowed it to happen.

08/31/2026

Some more good news for the Revolutionary War Era Latimer House.

Following my previous post announcing the transfer and recording of the quitclaim deed (https://tinyurl.com/4r4cband), the first $500,000 has been released to the Friends of the Latimer House at the William and Martha Brown Park, with the remainder coming in September.

The conveyance and the transfer of the fund were directed by Resolution 2608-07, adopted by the Sumner County Commission on August 17, 2026, and approved by the Sumner County Board of Education on August 18, 2026. The deed was recorded on August 27, 2026, in Record Book 6928, pages 761 through 769, Sumner County Register of Deeds.

The architects will submit their drawings and final invoice this week. Once that is paid, the remaining encumbered funds are freed up and the balance, between $85,000 and $90,000 plus interest still accruing, will be released to the nonprofit before September 18, 2026, under the Restricted Fund Administration Agreement approved alongside the resolution.

08/27/2026

IT IS RECORDED.

The Quitclaim Deed for the historic Latimer House has been signed, notarized, and filed with the Sumner County Register of Deeds. The house, the parcel, and the easement access now belong to the Friends of the Latimer House at the William and Martha Brown Park, a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The Friends have opened the required restricted accounts to receive Mr. Brown's funds and turned in every document Finance asked for.

The architect's contract has been canceled. They are finishing the dimensional drawings and submitting final billing, and Finance is closing out previously open purchase orders that are now void.

One signature remains. Sumner County Mayor signs to release the remaining balance of Mr. Brown's gift, and the restoration begins.

Nine and a half years to finally get the project started.

Thank you to every person who refused to let this go.

08/27/2026

FOURTEEN MONTHS IN A ROW. STILL NO VOTE FOR THE PEOPLE.

For fourteen straight months, July 2025 through August 2026, I have brought the Term Limits Resolution before the Sumner County Commission. Fourteen months. Every single meeting. And in fourteen months, the citizens of Sumner County still have not been given the right to vote on it.

Let me be clear about what this resolution does and does not do. It does not impose term limits. It asks the Tennessee General Assembly to authorize a private act so that YOU, the hardworking taxpayers of this county, can settle the question at the ballot box in a county-wide referendum.

That is all it does. It hands the decision to the voters.

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THE RECORD, MONTH BY MONTH

Here is the part most citizens never see. Of those fourteen months, the resolution reached an actual floor vote only five times: August 2025, October 2025, February 2026, May 2026, and August 2026. All five failed to reach the sixteen votes required.

The other nine months, it never even made it onto the agenda. No debate. No discussion. No vote on the merits. Blocked before a single word could be said about it.

Think about that. Two out of every three months, the question was not defeated. It was silenced.

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❌ THE MASTER LIST: EVERY COMMISSIONER WHO HAS VOTED NO

This is compiled directly from the official adopted minutes of the Sumner County Board of County Commissioners. Every vote counted below is a vote that kept term limits away from the voters: a vote to block it from being added to the agenda, a vote to strip it off the agenda after it was already printed there, a vote against the resolution itself, or an abstention. On a two-thirds threshold, withholding your vote kills a resolution just as surely as voting against it, so abstentions are counted here the same as a no.

- Mark Harrison (District 3): 18 no votes
- Darrell Rogers (District 5): 18 no votes
- Baker Ring (District 8): 17 no votes
- Merrol Hyde (District 20): 16 no votes
- Wes Wynne (District 15): 16 no votes
- Dillon Lamberth (District 4): 14 no votes
- Ben Harris (District 10): 13 no votes
- Shannon Burgdorf (District 19): 13 no votes
- Danny Sullivan (District 7): 12 no votes
- Terry Moss (District 1): 11 no votes
- Kevin Pomeroy (District 11): 5 no votes (absent most meetings)
- Terri Boyt (District 13): 4 no votes (absent many meetings)
- Terry Wright (District 2): 2 no votes
- Jerry Becker (District 21): 2 no votes

Commissioners Wright and Becker cast their only no votes on the same night, July 28, 2025, when this resolution was stripped off the agenda. Both have voted to let the people decide every month since. I want to give credit where it is due.

✅ And these ten commissioners have never once voted to block the people from deciding: Robert Brown (District 17), Dr. Mary Genung (District 9), Deborah Holmes (District 12), Tim Jones (District 23), David Klein (District 6), Chrissi Miller (District 24), Don Schmit (District 18), Matthew Shoaf (District 22), Dr. Jamie Teachenor (District 14), and myself (District 16).

Now here is the hard part for the citizens of this county. All but three of those ten commissioners chose not to run again and will not be seated in September.

Do not miss what that tells you. The commissioners most willing to let you vote on term limits turned out to be the same ones willing to hand their seats back on their own. They did not wait for a law to tell them when it was time to step aside. They lived the principle they kept voting for.

Meanwhile, most of the commissioners who spent fourteen months blocking your right to vote on this are staying right where they are, and are endorsed and controlled by the developer funded SCRFC (Sumner County Republican Freedom Caucus) PAC.

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THEY WOULDN'T EVEN PASS THEIR OWN WATERED-DOWN VERSION

In May 2026, this body amended my resolution on the floor. The ballot question was rewritten to ask whether no person could serve more than three consecutive four-year terms without sitting out two consecutive terms. That is not a two-term lifetime cap. That is a far weaker version than what I proposed, and it was their language, not mine.

It still failed. When a commission will not pass even its own diluted version of a question it refuses to send to the voters, the objection was never about the details.

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THE PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN

✅ Hendersonville voters passed term limits by 90%
✅ Gallatin voters passed term limits by 80%
✅ More than 80% of Americans support term limits at every level of government

In Federalist No. 39, James Madison described a republic as a government "administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior." A limited period. That expectation was written into the foundation of this country before it was ever written into a resolution of mine.

Fourteen months of blocking a referendum is not caution. It is not a legal concern. The Tennessee Supreme Court settled in Bailey v. County of Shelby that term limits are a qualification for office, and the General Assembly holds the authority to enact one by private act. Every legal objection raised in that chamber has been answered, in writing, on the record.

What is left is a simple question: if these commissioners truly believe the people of Sumner County do not want term limits, why are they so afraid to put it on the ballot and find out?

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THE FIGHT DOES NOT LEAVE WITH ME

My term as your Commissioner ends August 31, 2026. This is the last time I will bring this record to you from inside that chamber.

But this was never my resolution. It was yours.

Several of the commissioners who stood with me month after month are returning in September. Several of the newly elected commissioners taking office have committed to picking this up and carrying it forward.

That means a fifteenth month is coming. And a sixteenth. Not from me, but from people you elected who believe what I believe: that the right to vote on who governs you is not a favor twenty-four people hand down. It belongs to the people of Sumner County.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO
📧 Email the new Commission when it is seated in September
[email protected]
Subject: Let the People Vote on Term Limits

🔎 Find your Commissioner
https://sumnercountytn.gov/government/county-commission/

🗣️ Show up and speak
Citizens may address the Commission on both agenda and non-agenda items, a change I fought for and won. Be aware that public comment on non-agenda items has been pushed to the very end of the meeting, limited to 3 minutes per speaker, and capped at just 10 speakers.

✅ Ask every commissioner, by name and in public, where they stand on letting you vote
Hold the ones who promised to their promise. Hold the rest to the record above.

Do not let this go quiet in September. Fourteen months proved that a determined body can stall a question. It also proved the question does not go away.

Public trust is earned, not inherited. Thank you for the privilege of serving you.

At your service,
Jeremy

08/21/2026

We are in the final stretch, and the light at the end of the tunnel is finally in sight. For the citizens' sake, I pray nobody turns it off.

A Sumner County home with roots in the Revolutionary War is one step closer to being saved but a deadline could determine its fate. Here's what's at stake for the Latimer House.