DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The husband of a sitting alderman has filed an ethics complaint against Alderman Daniel Berry suggesting he was too cozy with a local developer in his professional dealings. Meanwhile, Berry maintains the complaint is in retaliation for an ethics complaint filed recently which targeted the complainant’s wife and other members of the city council.

In the complaint, filed by George Butler Wilson, M.D., husband of freshman Alderman Bobbie Wilson, he contends a precedent has been set with the recent ethics complaint filed by former alderman Rupa Blackwell, naming aldermen Kurt Glick, Jenna Amacher and his (Wilson’s) wife. The city board reviewed the (Blackwell) complaint at its recent meeting and found it had no merit.

Wilson’s complaint reads as follows:

“In accepting and pursuing a blatantly politically motivated ethics complaint against three sitting aldermen, the city attorney has established a new standard for transparency and notification of connections and relationships that now must be applied to all city officials; elected, hired or appointed.

To that end, I am forced to file this ethics complaint against Alderman Daniel Berry.

Mr. Berry has or does work for a local developer, Joe Denby. During the last alderman campaign Mr. Denby came to one of our strategy meetings and presented himself as Daniel Berry’s representative.

He asked us to include Mr. Berry in any future campaign activities. Mr. Denby told me personally, and multiple others, that he had spent $250,000.00 on electronic signs to be installed around the city so that he could employ Mr. Berry. He also told me that he was the major contributor to Mr. Berry’s campaign for re­election as alderman.

This is a repeated pattern and practice as Mr. Denby was also Mr. Berry’s major financial supporter during his failed mayoral election campaign.

That connection was one of the fundamental issues in the ethics complaint I ouster lawsuit filed August 24, 2022.

Mr. Berry’s financial disclosure forms from that mayoral election are included. These list contributions from Mr. Denby and two other Denby family members. Mr. Berry’s phone number listed on the City of Tullahoma’s web site is the same as the number listed on Mr. Denby’s Google business account: Joe Buys Homes.

During his last tenure as an alderman Mr. Berry was also on the planning commission.

Since being re-elected, Mr. Berry has voted, as a member of the BOMA, on at least two separate occasions in favor of Mr. Denby’s development projects.

Mr. Berry also currently sits on the planning commission.

When the BOMA was voting on appointments to the various city boards and commissions, Mr. Berry was not re-appointed to the planning commission.

After a closed-door meeting with Mr. Denby, the city administrator, Jennifer Moody and the mayor, the mayor took the extraordinary measure of removing himself from his seat on the planning commission and appointing Mr. Berry in his stead.

The mayor was well aware of Mr. Berry’s relationship with Mr. Denby as it had been one of the points of an ouster suit brought against Mr. Berry.

More importantly, the mayor had been specifically told by several members of the general public of Mr. Berry’s employment by Mr. Denby.

The mayor was aware of this issue before the election and specifically declined to to even address the issue until after the election. Then, when Mr. Berry was re­ elected, the mayor refused to take any action of any kind.

Mr. Berry did not make these revelations as required and did not deny them.

The mayor appointed Mr. Berry to the planning commission in spite of knowing this conflict of interest existed and over the stated objections of members of the public.

In order for Mr. Denby’s projects to get to the BOMA for fmal approval, they had to be approved by the planning commission first which means that Mr. Berry voted in favor of projects proposed by Mr. Denby in BOTH the planning commission and the BOMA.

Mr. Berry’s unethical pattern and practice which occurred during his last tenure as an alderman and member of the planning commission continues to this day. Planning Commission:

These were all issues with various Denby properties:

May 16, 2020, Mr. Berry voted in favor of an ordinance changing a Denby property from R-2 to R-3.

May 16, 2022, Tisha Estates issues were continued.

June 20, 2022, Mr. Berry himself made a motion to continue Tisha Estates to a future date.

July 18, 2022, Tisha Estates again.

August 15, 2022, Tisha Estates again. Perry minor subdivision also continued. September 19, 2022, Tisha Estates. Mr. Berry recuses himself claiming that he had been accused of bribery.

October 17, 2022, Mr. Berry rescinds his recusal and again votes on Denby properties. Tisha Estates and 2284 North Jackson St.

November 21, 2022, same as above with Mr. Berry seconding the motion and both Tisha Estates and the North Jackson requests passing.

In 2023 Mr. Berry continued to vote favorably on Denby properties. April17, 2023, Holt Minor subdivision. Another Denby property.

Based on the above stated facts, Mr. Berry has violated the Code of Ethics.

Mr. Berry’s elected position as an alderman as well as his appointed position on the planning commission meet all requirements of applicability of the Code of Ethics.

1-701: Applicability.

His behavior and failure to disclose these relationships meets all of the requirements under:

1-702: Definition of Personal Interest. And all of its subsections: 1 (a) (b) (c), 2 and 3.

His failure to state his relationship with a local developer meets all of the requirements of:

1-703: Disclosure of Personal Interest by Official with Vote.”

Berry resists the claims made by Wilson in his response:

“Regrettably, Dr. George Wilson, the spouse of the current Alderman Bobbie Wilson, has chosen to resurrect an ouster petition in response to an ethics complaint against his wife. It is important to note that this complaint has already been thoroughly investigated by a third party and was found to be baseless. Nonetheless, I welcome the opportunity to clear my name and that of Mr. Denby for a second time, as it is imperative to demonstrate my commitment to transparency, honesty, and integrity.

Despite the dismissal of the initial allegations, the Alderman’s husband and a small group of disrupters are engaging in retaliatory actions and continuing to defame Mr. Denby’s character. It is disheartening that Mr. Denby, a private citizen, is being subjected to such treatment simply for associating with me and speaking out against the actions of certain board members. I hope that once cleared, Mr. Denby will seek and receive the justice he deserves for the ongoing defamation of his character. As is always the case, I am available to speak on this or any other issue. I can be reached by calling 931-229-0364, or by sending an email to dberry@tullahomatn.gov.”

The entire complaint along with supporting documentation and signatures of those who signed it can be found on the Tullahoma News website along with this story.