Rep. JoAnne Favors announces she won’t seek reelection

State Rep. JoAnne Favors, a Chattanooga Democrat representing House District 28, announced Monday she won’t seek re-election in 2018 and instead will retire at the end of her current term, reports the Times Free Press.

“It has taken a lot of introspection and talking to some close friends and family,” said Favors, first elected to the House in 2004, in an interview.

Favors, now in her seventh term, is the only black representative now serving in the Hamilton County legislative delegation and just the third from the county elected to the General Assembly since the end of the 19th century.

A retired registered nurse and former health facilities administrator, Favors said her decision was based in large part on her responsibilities for taking care of her great-grandchildren and her mother, among other considerations.

“I finally decided it was the best thing for me at this point,” said Favors, a former Hamilton County commissioner, who added the decision also will allow her to devote more time to her writing.

Note: As noted in the current Tennessee Journal, a remarkable number of legislative seats are being voluntarily vacated by lawmakers who held them during the 2017 session – 20 or so in the House (before Favors’ announcement) and perhaps eight in the Senate.