Franklin Alderman Gabrielle Hanson resigns before vote to censure her

Franklin Alderman Gabrielle Hanson has resigned from her position before the board could vote on whether to censure her.

Hanson’s time as an alderman had been marked by controversy: Parents of the Covenant School called on Hanson to resign after she spread misinformation about the school shooting in March, and she faced dozens of ethics complaints for her comments disparaging Franklin’s LGBTQ community. The city’s ethics commission didn’t take up those complaints, but found that she had violated city code when she tried to pressure BNA into pulling support from a Juneteenth festival.

The commission recommended censuring her, but the board did not take action until Hanson’s ties with a local white supremacist group came to light.

When members of the Tennessee Active Club escorted Hanson to a candidate forum, she refused to denounce them, claiming they were protecting her from the left-wing, anti-fascist group Antifa. Hanson was also the real estate agent for local business owner Brad Lewis, a self-identified Nazi who allowed the Tennessee Active Club to train in a private gym above his gas station.

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Alderman then agreed to take back up the censure vote, but delayed it until after Franklin’s municipal elections.

Tuesday night’s BOMA meeting was the first since Franklin residents took to the ballot box, and since Hanson lost a bid for the mayor’s office. Despite Hanson’s absence, members of the community still spoke for and against her censure.

“Gabrielle Hanson should be censured for what she did,” said Joe Jensen, one of the people who filed an ethics complaint against Hanson. “But my interest is to reunify this city that has been destroyed by that woman … I think it’s just time to move on with the business of getting this city back together. I think a censure or a punishment doesn’t do anyone any good.”

Joshua Patrick served as a poll worker during the election, and told the board that Hanson accused him of “running” the election.

“Making such statements is dangerous for the health and integrity of our democratic process,” Patrick said. “I strongly urge the board to censure Ms. Hanson and make that the final page of her political career.”