OUTRAGE POLITICS: ROUTINE APPOINTMENTS UNTIL IT’S NOT

📍DATELINE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TN — OUTRAGE POLITICS: ROUTINE APPOINTMENTS UNTIL IT’S NOT

Usually on Wednesdays we hand out our Dummy of the Week award, but this time we’re doing something different. Something much uglier.

Last week, Guy Carden was quietly appointed to the Williamson County Commission to fill a vacant seat. You probably missed it, and that’s fine. There was no drama. No Facebook civil war. No last-minute lectures on bylaws from self-appointed guardians of the republic. Just a simple vote and a new commissioner sworn in.

Routine. Just like it should be.

But for some of us, it reopened a wound. A fresh reminder of what this county did not do that long ago—when the process wasn’t so quiet, and the rules weren’t so evenly applied.

Flashback to July 2024—the Commission appointed Cheryl Brown to fill the District 10 seat. A longtime community member. Former WCRP Chair. Legally eligible, publicly respected—eminently qualified. It should have been straightforward.

But this time? The gates flew open. The Williamson County Republican Party rushed to stop her. Not support her. Not question her on policy. Just stop her.

Why? Not because they had new bylaws. Not because anything had changed. Just because it was her.

Only months earlier, the same Commission appointed David O’Neil to a similar seat. No drama. No statements. No Facebook screeds. The WCRP said absolutely nothing—because O’Neil posed no threat. No movement. No strong following. No record of calling out party nonsense.

But Cheryl Brown? She had standing. She had support. And worst of all for them, she had a spine.

So what did they do? They sent Elliott Franklin to the podium—allegedly solo, but in reality, carrying water for the entire Executive Committee. He admitted the rest were busy “planning the convention,” but Franklin showed up with a prepared statement. This wasn’t a “just me speaking” moment. This was the party line.

Here’s what he read into the record:

“The problem, as the WCRP perceives it, is that when you as a political body appoint, it suggests that you somehow lack the support for a candidate who is being expedited… A procedural appointment can be interpreted as a situation where we cannot entrust our constituents.”

And then:

“This will come at a considerable cost, but it’s worth it. The County Commission should rely on democratic processes and not upon insider deals.”

So let’s talk about that “democratic process.”

The WCRP organized a closed-door party caucus at the Cool Springs Marriott. Around 300 handpicked “bona fide Republicans”—defined by the party as voters—were invited to cast ballots. If you weren’t on the list, you didn’t get a ballot. If you weren’t aligned, you weren’t welcome.

And Brown? She lost.

Instead, they picked “Sleepy” Bill Petty. A candidate with no known record of community involvement, no serious political capital, and no public engagement. He beat Brown 153–78 and then promptly disappeared into the beige wallpaper of local government. If transparency was the goal, someone’s going to need a defibrillator.

All of this—every bit of it—was framed by the WCRP as righteous indignation. Standing up for the people. Defending the party. Upholding the bylaws.

So why only Cheryl? Why did they throw the book at her?

The same people who moved heaven and earth to block a very competent and well-liked Black woman from taking a seat she was legally nominated to fill are the same people who rallied behind Gabrielle Hanson—the notorious failed Franklin mayoral candidate with known ties to white supremacists. Hanson refused to disavow those connections even as her campaign imploded in scandal.

The same party that tore down Brown propped up Hanson—because loyalty beats integrity when the insiders are in charge.

So here’s the scoreboard:

David O’Neil — appointed without objection
Gabrielle Hanson — endorsed despite scandal
Cheryl Brown — blocked with fire and fury

Let that sink in.

If there’s a pattern here, it’s not one of principle. It’s one of pettiness, power-hoarding, and perhaps something much more sinister—steeped in this nation’s short history.

And just in case someone tries to say “well, that was the old WCRP,” let’s clear that up too: it wasn’t. Elliott Franklin still holds office on the Executive Committee. So do several of the officers who were around in 2024. And Steve Hickey, the current chair, wasn’t just some party member. He was the Secretary of Williamson Families PAC—the same group that endorsed Gabrielle Hanson and attacked the integrity of the Commission Brown was nominated to join.

This isn’t a new party. It’s the same bitter brew. Same petty players. Same vendetta politics.

And if you want to know who the Williamson County Republican Party really is, just ask them how many appointments they’ve ever fought.

The answer is one.
Just one.
And she happened to be Black.

So much for unity.