Knox County commissioners elected Hardin Valley Republican Terry Hill to serve as chair of the 11-member body. Republican Adam Thompson of Corryton will serve as vice chair.
Republican members and their allies have been battling behind the scenes for weeks over who should serve as chair as four new members joined the board. As tensions have risen between moderate Republican commissioners and their more conservative counterparts, the chair's gatekeeping job has become more important to set the tone.
The vote Sept. 1 to selected who will lead the commission scrambled party lines.
Hill was backed by only one Republican other than herself – new Commissioner Garrett Holt, who represents the entire county as an at-large commissioner. All four Democrats
– incumbents Courtney Durrett, Shane Jackson and Damon Rawls and newcomer Brandon Huckaby – voted for Hill. Russell voted for herself and was backed by incumbent Republican Commissioners Andy Fox and Adam Thompson and new Republican Commissioners Barry Beeler and Justin Cofer.
Hill and Russell come from two wings of the Knox County Republican Party that increasingly are at odds. Hill repeatedly has been attacked as not being "Republican enough" because she has found ways to work with Democrats on solutions to local issues and isn't ideologically as far to the right as some Republicans, including Russell.
"When a person hears again and again and AGAIN that they are no longer a real Republican because they aren't as far right as they should be it's difficult to continue to claim a party that doesn't want you anymore," Hill told Knox County Republican Party Chair Martin Daniel in response to criticism from him in May.
"This is still a free Country. Our Fathers fought for the right to vote and to support who we believe is the best candidate, not the 'right' party. I know who I am and learned it's ok to not have a group support you."
The commission's vote to select Hill as chair signals a slim majority continues to support deferring to seniority and tradition. Hill is one of two commissioners who have served since 2020 and previously was chair in 2023-24. She represents the 6th District in the western parts of the county, including Hardin Valley and Karns. She served as a member of the Knox County Board of Education from 2014-2020 and was elected to chair that board in 2018.
The chair can't stop a commissioner from putting a resolution or ordinance on the agenda, but can try to steer the conversation during meetings.
"This person should be Switzerland, the person that doesn't speak and lets everyone else speak," said Durrett, explaining her approach to Knox News when she served as chair in 2022-23. "If you feel strongly about something, you wait until the end (of discussion time). You're there to run a meeting."
Russell, who represents Farragut and surrounding communities such as Choto, was elected to the commission in 2024. She has offered to be Knox County's DOGE (referencing President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency) and campaigned in 2024 on opposing higher-density housing.
Since she was elected in 2024, Russell has abstained from voting 31 times.
Former Commission Chair Gina Oster, who lost her GOP primary election this year to Sheri Super, who then lost the seat to Huckaby, told Knox News a commissioner not be chair if they routinely decline to stake out a position.
"I do not find anyone who passes (on votes) that much in this job can be in leadership," Oster said. "A leader has got to be decisive, they've got to make hard decisions. they have to make hard votes, that's what they were elected to do. not to pass, not to abstain . If you're a Knox County commissioner, you represent your district, including people you don't like and didn't necessarily vote for you."
The branches of Knox County's government are meant to serve as checks and balances on each other. Commissioners have the power to make changes in the mayor's budget and to approve or reject contracts the mayor wants to pursue. Commissioners also approve zoning changings and tools designed to spur investment or development, such as payments in lieu of taxes, which the mayor's office must initiate.
The relationship between newly elected County Mayor Betsy Henderson and Hill, who are both from Hardin Valley, has publicly deteriorated since Hill criticized Henderson for her support of school choice vouchers as school board chair in 2025. This year, Hill declined to endorse Henderson for mayor after she beat two sitting commissioners in the GOP primary.
Henderson congratulated Hill on her selection as chair.
"I look forward to having a working relationship with her and the rest of the commission as we focus on improving the lives of Knox County residents and ensuring it remains the best place to live, work and raise a family," Henderson said in a written statement released Sept. 1 after the vote. "I believe the mayor's office and the commission are most effective when we work together and put residents first."
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Republican Terry Hill will serve as Knox County Commission chair
