Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown has picked up her qualifying petition for a fourth term in office, even as a citizen-led legal challenge over the city's term-limit charter amendment remains unresolved. Brown, first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022, says she is running legally under a Sumner County Chancery Court ruling issued in June, but opponents are appealing that decision and warn her eligibility could still be overturned.
According to WZTV, Brown faces a dispute over the 2018 term-limit vote and a court battle over whether she can appear on the ballot at all. Gallatin voters approved a 2018 ballot question concerning limits on a mayor serving four consecutive terms, and the advocacy group Friends of Old Hickory Lake is now appealing the Sumner County Chancery Court's decision that allowed Brown to qualify. Attorney Tom Lee, who represents the group, said the statute does not permit the mayor to run again, arguing that the 2018 charter allows a mayor to serve three consecutive terms and a half term rather than a full fourth term.
How the Charter Language Became a Legal Battleground
The dispute traces back to November 2018, when Gallatin voters overwhelmingly approved the charter amendment establishing term limits by a vote of 8,689 in favor to 2,195 opposed, representing nearly 80 percent approval, according to Main Street Media of Tennessee. The amendment was enacted through Private Chapter No. 51 of the 110th Tennessee General Assembly following Gallatin City Council Ordinance No. O1511-68, which authorized placing the question on the ballot. The 2018 charter also includes a half-term provision for a candidate who fills a vacant seat, and it is that provision's exact phrasing that has become the center of the legal fight.
When Gallatin voters approved the referendum by nearly 80 percent, public perception and reporting understood it as a straightforward three-term limit, per the same outlet's account. But the Chancery Court's June ruling turned on technical wording within the charter text — specifically the half-term exception clause — which the court found allowed Brown to pursue a fourth term rather than barring it.
Timeline of the Court Fight
Ten Gallatin residents and registered voters filed suit in Sumner County Chancery Court in March under the case name Alfieri v. Brown, seeking a declaratory judgment and temporary injunction to prevent Brown from qualifying for a fourth term, according to a petition posted on Change.org. On June 5, a Sumner County Chancery Court judge ruled in favor of Brown, determining that the specific phrasing of the 2018 charter amendment allowed her to run again. Attorneys for the citizen plaintiffs then filed a motion on June 26 asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to bypass the Court of Appeals and hear the term-limit challenge directly ahead of election deadlines, according to a post shared in a Sumner County Facebook group.
Sumner County Election Commission records show Brown picked up her qualifying petition for the mayoral race on July 28, ahead of the official candidate filing deadline of noon on August 20. Friends of Old Hickory Lake is appealing the Chancery Court decision, meaning Brown's eligibility remains subject to review even as she moves forward with her campaign. Brown has said she is running for a fourth term legally, though WZTV reports it is still awaiting her fuller response about her re-election eligibility reasoning.
A Precedent That Looms Over November
Lee has publicly pointed to Jordan v. Knox County, a 2006 Tennessee Supreme Court decision in which elected county officials were ordered removed from office after courts held their re-elections violated charter term limits, according to Main Street Media of Tennessee. That precedent is central to opponents' warning that a court ruling against Brown after the election could still force her from office, even if she wins in November.
The legal fight has unfolded alongside other friction at Gallatin City Hall. In April, City Council Member Pascal Jouvence requested an investigation into Brown seeking legal advice regarding referendum rules, a request outside counsel subsequently concluded was without merit, per the Facebook group post. Friends of Old Hickory Lake itself initially formed around local development disputes, including opposition to the Foxland Harbor Marina project, before expanding into municipal governance and the term-limit litigation now playing out in the courts.
Whether the Tennessee Court of Appeals or Supreme Court issues a definitive ruling before the November election, or whether Gallatin faces a post-election challenge similar to the Knox County case, remains an open question as Brown's campaign moves forward under the Chancery Court's favorable ruling.
