DAYTON, Tenn. — Three candidates have qualified to run in a special citywide election for the late Jim Barnes’ seat on the Dayton City Council.

Gary Louallen, Jerry Morgan Sr. and Paul Riggs all qualified for the nonpartisan post.

All three candidates said they are longtime Rhea County residents. All three said they do not believe in forced annexation and think the citizens of Dayton would vote to allow liquor by the drink.

Gary Louallen, owner of Eagle Exxon on the north end of town, said he has been attending council meetings for almost a year and decided two years ago he wanted to run for public office. He said he could see the city growing and wanted use his business experience to help.

“I saw that four-lane (U.S. Highway 27) come in and knew what to expect,” he said.

Mr. Louallen said he wants to push hard for a new city power substation and to expand the industrial park. He said the treatment plant could also use work within the next five years.

“We have to upgrade our electric systems and utility systems,” Mr. Louallen said.

Mr. Morgan said he served on the Rhea County Commission four years in the 1990s. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1978 and worked security for the Tennessee Valley Authority for 12 years. Now fully retired, Mr. Morgan said he feels financial problems might be coming to the city as the national economy falters.

He wants to focus on doing things for children, such as building a recreational center, he said.

“I’ve always said we need to be doing 10 times more than what we’re doing for our children,” he said.

He said he also thinks the city’s substations need to be upgraded.

Mr. Riggs, technology director for the Rhea County Department of Education, said he wants to encourage growth in business and industry. That might mean looking to acquire more land, he said.

“It’s not going to be cheap and it’s not going to be easy,” he said.

But he said the jobs provided would be worth the cost.

Mr. Riggs said he as been technology director for 14 years. He also owned and operated the Sears Catalog Store in Richland Park from 1977 to 1992 and served on the board of directors for the Dayton Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Riggs said he wants to serve everyone.

“To me, it’s not about what’s good for that one or this one,” he said. “It’s what’s good for the whole.”

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