Chattanooga: Mayor, council races set

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield will face three challengers in the March 3 election for his office.

Former city Parks and Recreation Director Rob Healy, blogger Joe Lance and Thomas Smith II, who ran for mayor in 1997, 2001 and 2005, all filed qualifying papers by Thursday’s noon deadline.

Mr. Littlefield said he’s prepared for the challenge.

“I’ve been through many of these before,” he said. “I don’t expect many surprises.”

Mr. Healy, who last week announced he may not enter the race, said overwhelming support made him finally throw his hat into the ring.

“I wanted to make sure I could run an effective campaign,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.”

Mr. Littlefield fired Mr. Healy from his position as Parks and Recreation director in 2006.

In October, Mr. Healy sued the Hamilton County Election Commission after they ruled him ineligible to run for mayor, saying he failed to meet a residency requirement. Chancellor Howell Peoples last month reversed the Election Commission decision.

All three of Mr. Littlefield’s opponents have said they plan to run on a reform platform. Mr. Littlefield said he will run on the basis of his record as mayor, especially bringing jobs to the city.

Mr. Lance has gained support from Cecil “Strat” Parrott and Scott Seagle, both of whom had earlier expressed interest in the mayor’s office, but later backed out. Mr. Lance said Mr. Seagle’s Thursday endorsement “was a very pleasant surprise.”

Mr. Smith said he was running for mayor to bring more focus onto areas of the city outside of affluent neighborhoods and downtown.

“It hasn’t always been fair in Chattanooga,” he said.

Thursday also was the deadline for candidates to file papers in all nine City Council district races.

Councilwoman Carol Berz is up against Marti Rutherford, who previously held Ms. Berz’s District 6 council seat, but resigned in 2007 when questions arose about whether she actually lived in the district.

Council members Jack Benson, Sally Robinson and Russell Gilbert are running unopposed.

Five candidates are vying for the District 9 seat being vacated by Councilwoman Debbie Gaines and two are seeking the District 3 seat Councilman Dan Page is leaving.

Candidates seeking election in District 9 are Quenston Coleman, John McDaniel, Thomas Mott, Peter Murphy and Jackie Thomas. Candidates seeking the District 3 seat are Pam Ladd and George Patten.