Commissioner Profiles
Member-by-member histories from the parsed 2011–2026 minutes (151 held meetings, 347 hearing items). Numbers = meetings attended · motions made · seconds · dissents. "Observed" spans are bounded by the corpus start (Nov 2011); pre-2011 service is being reconstructed from Council appointment records (1991–2002 PDFs OCR'd separately).
Current commission (2026)
| Member | Role | Since | Corpus stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Telford | Chairman (Jul 2025–) | ≤2011 | 122 · 127 · 56 · 11 |
| Theresa Meyer | Vice-Chairman (Jul 2025–) | Aug 2022 | 24 · 3 · 6 · 0 |
| Dr. Taylor Bunn | Commissioner (alt 2022→full 2024) | Aug 2022 | 20 · 2 · 4 · 0 |
| David Ewbank | Commissioner | Aug 2024 | 10 · 2 · 1 · 0 |
| Jana Garcia | Commissioner | Aug 2022 | 24 · 0 · 6 · 0 |
| Dr. Curtis Ratliff | Commissioner (ex-Heritage Fdn chair) | Jul 2025 | 3 · 0 · 1 · 0 |
| Janice Rhoda | Commissioner (alt 2024→full 2025) | Aug 2024 | 11 · 1 · 2 · 0 |
| Michael Reeder | Alternate | Jul 2025 | — |
The veterans (historical anchors)
| Member | Service | Role | Corpus stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burl Gilliam | ~1991–2016 (~25 yrs) | Chairman until Apr 2016 (PSP diagnosis) | 48 · 0 · 1 · 2 |
| Sean Shope | ~1999–2025 (26 yrs) | Chairman 2016–2025 → City Council | 125 · 19 · 12 · 4 |
| R. Lee Derr | 1998–2017 | Vice-Chairman; materials hawk | 58 · 6 · 12 · 6 |
| Ted Ware | ≤2011–2018 (retired; d. ~2019, memorialized Feb 2019) | Commissioner | 60 · 28 · 21 · 1 |
| Ashley Anderson | ≤2011–Jul 2025 (~14 yrs) | Commissioner; pragmatist counterweight | 106 · 48 · 55 · 7 |
| Vick Cox | Jun 2012–May 2021 (retired after 12 yrs*) | Vice-Chairman 2018–2021 | 79 · 20 · 37 · 6 |
| Chuck Voelker | 2012 (alt) → 2016 (full) → Aug 2022 | Commissioner; garage-variance skeptic ("what is the limit?") | 94 · 22 · 26 · 2 |
| Eric Gilliland | 2016 (alt) → 2017 (full) → Mar 2024 (9 yrs, moved to MD) | Commissioner | 56 · 8 · 36 · 4 |
Shorter tenures
| Member | Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Powers | ≤2011–Jun 2012 | replaced by Cox |
| Jason Parker | alt Dec 2017 → full 2018 → Feb 2021 | left for P&Z Commission |
| Paula Wilbanks | alt Jul 2018 → full Mar 2021 → Aug 2022 | widow of Mayor Pro Tem Shane Wilbanks; d. ~Oct 2025 (moment of silence) |
| Jim Niewald | alt Mar 2021 → full Jul 2021 → Jun 2024 | moved to Tennessee |
| Darren Temple | alternate Jul 2021–2022 | — |
*Cox's "12 years" per his 2021 farewell; corpus first observes him Jun 2012.
Founding era (pre-2011, from Council appointment records)
Burl Gilliam (Foundation board 1991 → HPC chair through 2016) · Annette Campbell (1994–96+) · Izak Gregory (1994) · Kyle Keahey (1994–96+, Vice-Chairman by Nov 1993 — presented the College Street designation) · Carol Williamson (reappointed 1995) · Jan Dawson (1995) · Jess Michael Daniel & Ted Willhoite (1991 Foundation board) · Council liaisons: Wickman (1994), Ware (1996+). Full story: The Founding Era (1991-2010).
Reading the room in 2026
The 2022–2025 turnover replaced nearly the whole founding cohort. What persists is the culture, carried by Telford and the staff (Klempin, 20+ years as HPO): staff-negotiated consensus, conditions-based approvals, fury reserved for unpermitted work. The new members (Bunn, Meyer, Garcia, Ewbank, Rhoda, Ratliff) have zero recorded dissents — they vote the staff line. Win staff, and you've won the room.
Method & sources: Voting Patterns and Tendencies · Source Index §Minutes-corpus.