A Rutherford County political conflict emerged recently in shared email exchanges between two Republican leaders about two competing GOP candidates , facing off in the Property Assessor primary March 5.
In an email posted to social media, Rutherford County Republican Party Chairman Austin Maxwell purports County Mayor Joe Carr is dissatisfied with incumbent Property Assessor Rob Mitchell ‘s leadership as property assessor.
The email comes on the heels of Carr voicing concerns about the hiring processes within the Property Assessor’s Office under Mitchell’s leadership.
Mitchell faces opponent Virgil Gammon, a former Rutherford County Commissioner and previous chief deputy of the Sheriff’s Office.
“Why would a sitting county mayor call up the chairman of the GOP in October of 2023 and seek out advice on candidates he could recruit to run against an incumbent Republican property assessor because Rob Mitchell was driving him crazy?” Maxwell wrote in the email to Carr.
“I believe you owe the voters and other officials an honest answer as to why you undertook the recruitment resulting in Virgil Gammon running for office of property assessor this election cycle,” added Maxwell, who’s also an elected member of the Murfreesboro City Council .