Now I know to remember why I’m there

Key Takeaways

as told to Charlie Ban by David Copeland, Tipton County, Tenn. commissioner

I came home one day and told my wife I filed a petition to run for county commissioner. She asked “Why?” and I said, “Because I could make a difference.”

Looking at my professional experience, I had been working with public entities all over the country to address payroll issues, I had a lot of background and attraction retention and engagement with employees. I really felt that I could bring something to the table that maybe they weren’t used to on a different perspective, so that’s initially why I was going to run: To hopefully help county personnel be more engaged. 

But that changed during the campaign. I felt like my predecessor, who had been in office for 24 years, was not as focused on the district. It wasn’t anything personal, but I knew he had bought a second home out of state and just wasn’t around as much as he used to be.

I probably knocked on 1,000 doors over the course of the campaign in 2018 and I heard a lot of “We don’t even know who our county commissioner is,” or “We don’t even know what you do.”

Our assessor’s office does community awareness meetings, but they weren’t happening in my district, so when I took office, I started focusing on citizen engagement. It wasn’t about me, it was about helping people find a voice to express their opinions and needs and ideas about how county government could best work for them. I thought that was the kind of change I could bring after taking a look at what others did and what I felt like our residents need and want. 

So, whenever we take on county business, I want to make sure our residents can understand it and find out more. If that’s the difference I make while I’m in office, I’ll feel like I did what I set out to accomplish.