Write-in push turns ‘slam dunk’ into a contest

Until early September, the race for the lone open commissioner seat in the City of Forest Hills looked like a slam dunk win for Tim Douglas.

For starters, Douglas was the only candidate on the ballot. Basing his first ever campaign for public on preservation, especially of Forest Hills’ many acres of open space, Douglas believed he had the election all but sewn up to replace departing Mayor Charles Evers.

Then came a strange commissioner meeting on Sept. 4.

The three-member commission worked its way through each agenda item and seemed moments away from adjourning. The only thing standing in the way was the public comments portion of the meeting and with seemingly no controversial items, the commissioners expected to slam the gavel and call it an evening.

However, up stood lifelong Forest Hills resident Michael Gaw, who dropped a relative bombshell that left the commissioners, the city attorney and others in attendance quite surprised. Gaw said he had wired money to purchase the properties at 1200 Old Hickory Boulevard.

Gaw said he, along with other investors, was intending to build an assisted living facility on the prime piece of real estate. The commissioners and attorney Matt Foster were surprised. For starters, the commission had considered purchasing the exact same piece of property for use as a brand new city hall.

When Gaw said he had already wired the money for the property, Foster asked a point of clarification just to be sure.

“I said, ‘Are you telling me you’ve wired the money for the property?’” Foster recalled. “I would say I was surprised, that would be putting it mildly.”

The other reason for pause was the fact that, besides a few churches, Forest Hills is zoned strictly residential and doesn’t allow assisted living facilities. The meeting minutes state the commissioners expressed “concern” over Gaw’s proposal.

Gaw never closed on the property, and Forest Hills still has no assisted living facilities. Instead, it has an unexpected city commissioner race.

Gaw said his experience at the meeting bothered him. So, Gaw decided to do something about it. He decided to start a write-in campaign for the open commission seat.

“When I went to that meeting, I was just amazed at some of the comments,” Gaw said. “They weren’t rude to me or anything, I was just amazed. I was the only one there, besides Douglas. They just make decisions when nobody is there and then move on. They do whatever they want.”

Douglas favors preservation

Douglas only moved to the wealthy 4,000 resident town located south of Green Hills in 2005, but already he’s been highly civically engaged. He serves on the Forest Hills Board of Zoning Appeals, the Open and Natural Resources Committee and the Open Space Planning Committee.

Preservation is Douglas’s pet topic. He said his top goal is to preserve the town’s expansive open spaces. In the coming years, Douglas sees several 50-plus acre properties facing a crossroads.

“There are 17 lots totaling 900 acres that will be developed in the future,” Douglas said. “Maybe not in my lifetime, but in my children’s lifetime. There are also 165 properties that are subject to redevelopment maybe a house sits on five acres.

“Principally, it is a residential area. We need to find a way to allow the landowners to develop their property in the future but in a manner consistent with the character of the city.”

Douglas, a 53-year old father of three with an extensive background in finance, points to the Green Community Framework Plan for Forest Hills. The plan offers the framework for preserving open spaces in Forest Hills.

“Ensuring that the plan is enacted and applied properly will be one of my top goals,” Douglas said.

When he heard of Gaw’s write-in campaign, Douglas said he was surprised.

“On (Sept. 20), I went on vacation and I thought, ‘I’m going to get elected,’” Douglas said. “Then this happened… Since I found he’s running, I’ve done two things. I tried to put some signs out. Secondly I sent out about 500 postcards to random citizens asking for their vote, outlining my position and directing them to my web site.”

Gaw faces uphill battle

With his name not even on the ballot, Gaw knows he’s facing an uphill batter.

The 45-year-old father and manager of a hedge fund, has spent the few weeks since his decision to run getting the word out about his last-minute candidacy.

Gaw has been walking the streets, going door-to-door and speaking at neighborhood association meetings.

“It is a big challenge and I am certainly an underdog and I certainly recognize that,” Gaw said.

Gaw said one of his top issues was improving transparency in Forest Hills’ governance. He wouldn’t cite any specific infractions, but Gaw said he would work to inform citizens of public meetings and try to get them broadcast on Metro3.

“People need to know what’s going on with their commission,” said Gaw, who said he would also request an independent audit of the city’s budget.

Gaw, who has lived somewhere in Forest Hills his entire life, also said he favored beautification efforts like burying phone and cable lines.

“I don’t want to come across like a negative guy, but I am trying to come across as a guy who has really good ideas,” said Gaw, who questioned the current commission’s judgment on issues like the street signs, which were approved last year. Gaw said the money should have been used to beef up security.

Property still for sale

As for the 1200 Old Hickory Boulevard property that led to the surprising commission meeting, it remains up for sale.

Although Gaw said at the meeting he had already wired the money, he never closed on the property which is still on the market.

According to Commissioner Bill Coke, the commission is still in search of a new city hall, although the 1200 Old Hickory property seems to be a less-likely option. The property has been foreclosed on and remains up for sale.

Coke, who supports Douglas, said many in Forest Hills were surprised by Gaw’s last-minute candidacy.

“It’s an interesting race,” Coke said. “It’s always a surprise when there’s a write-in, but it’s perfectly legitimate. I guess we’ll see what happens.”