Commission candidate confirms calls to home, cites family mental health struggles

A Washington County Commission candidate said Wednesday mental issues within his family played a part in 911 calls made to his residence over a series of several months. "I cannot deny there have been several calls made to my residence in the past few months," Scott Holly said. Holly is running for a seat on the Washington County Commission in District 8 as an independent candidate against incumbent Republican Freddie Malone and Democratic candidate Billy Briggs. A review of records by the Johnson City Press showed a total of 22 calls have been made to his residence since January. One of those calls also involved pornographic material, records show. Holly was asked to comment earlier this week. He reached out to the Johnson City Press on Wednesday. Holly said struggles within his family led to several calls being made. Concerning a Johnson City Police Department incident report on April 8 — which lists pornography/obscene material as the offense description with exploiting children, distributing/selling and possessing/concealing listed as criminal activities — Holly said an iPhone and tablet contained the material and 911 was called by his wife to report it. Penny Babb, his wife, and Scott Holly said the pornographic material came from outside sources to a family member. He said the iPhone and tablet were both given to JCPD officers who said it would be given to their forensics department. He has not heard any more information concerning the investigation. Additionally, he said a JCPD incident report made on June 20 where an officer stated Holly was "belligerent and uncooperative" came due to Holly being surprised. The report stated he demanded the officer get off his property. Holly said he was in bed at the time a head appeared in his window. He said he was unaware officers were on the property. "I told the officer that I didn't know why he was there and that they needed to leave my property, as I felt that my privacy was invaded by the officer for no reason," Holly said in an email statement. Holly pled guilty to four counts of extortion and a criminal impersonation charge in 2002, records show. In 2008, he pled guilty to a prohibited weapons charge. He spent a total of four months in jail for his extortion charges in 2002, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. Extortion, a Class D felony, is defined in state law as a person "who uses coercion upon another person" with specific intentions that are listed. "All of that was addressed four years ago when I ran against the same opponent as I am now..." Holly said. "I have been trying for years to put all of that behind me and leave my past in the past." The Johnson City Press also reached out to Paul Holly, Scott Holly's son, this week. Paul Holly said his father "doesn't need to be in the commission seat," adding "he gets very angry."