GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — An attempt to limit how long Sumner County officials can hold public office has failed — twice.

Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield has aggressively pushed to establish county-wide term limits, but the resolution has yet to garner the required votes to move forward. Despite the hiccups, Mansfield told News 2 he's determined to see it through.

“I’m going to bring it back every month if I have to,” Mansfield said. “I think one thing that we can unify on as Americans is term limits in government, and those who are entrenched there too long.”

Mansfield first filed the resolution in July. Since then, it was removed from one commission agenda, then failed to get the two-thirds of votes needed to pass, falling just one vote short. He hasn't been deterred, though; Mansfield sees preexisting support for term-limits in their county’s two largest cities.

“The City of Hendersonville voters — they passed term limits by over 90% approximately, and that’s nine out of 10 voters,” Mansfield said. “In Gallatin, about 80%, so eight out of 10 voters. In Sumner County, that’s roughly 110- 115,000 people representing the county.”

If it were to pass the County Commission, a term limits act would still need state approval. From there, it’s the voters of Sumner County who would make the final call during the 2026 election cycle.

“It’s something that those who are elected into office aren’t willing to do because once they get into office, they like the power. They like the prestige, and they like to be there for a long time,” Mansfield said. “I believe in leading from the front and leading by example, so I think Sumner County has an opportunity to be a leader in this for the state and set a model.”

Mansfield believes more turnover in elected positions would allow for more work to be done, given their time in power is on a clock.

As for those on the other side, Sumner County Commissioner Wes Wynne — who abstained from the most recent vote — believes the impact of term limits needs to be analyzed more in-depth.

“We have to stop trying to localize national and state level issues and focus on the business of making Sumner County one of the best places to live, learn, work and play," Wynne said in a statement to News 2.

Nonetheless, Mansfield plans to bring the resolution back to the commission on September 15.

News 2 contacted some of the commissioners who voted against term limits. As of publication, they have yet to respond.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/term-limits-sumner-county/