Mark Siedlecki, candidate for Hamilton County Assessor of Property.Mark Siedlecki has announced he is running for Hamilton County Assessor of Property as a Democrat in the March 1 primary election.
The assessor locates, classifies and values all property in the county.The County Commission then sets the tax rate based on assessor information.
The job pays $115,588 a year, according to the county's 2016 budget.
A Chattanooga native, Siedlecki said in his announcement that he will bring decades of experience in technology and management to the office. He hopes to modernize the office in a way that makes it more taxpayer-friendly, according to his statement.
"I will bring the office into the 21st century in terms of how we function internally and how we treat citizens," he said.
"Taxpayers should be treated like valued customers and the Assessor's office should operate like a service," he said. "I'm the only candidate running who has the experience to make the needed improvements and enhancements."
Siedlecki said he became a business entrepreneur in his teens and by age 20 he owned and operated a company with 29 employees. He has since started multiple successful business ventures with offices and clients around the, he said.
He faces no Democratic opposition in the primary and will face the winner of the three-man Republican primary in the August county general election.
The Republican candidates are Marty Haynes, Sterling Jetton and Randy Johnston. Haynes is a businessman and Hamilton County commissioner. Jetton worked in the assessor's office for 27 years before leaving to study for the ministry. Johnston has worked in the assessor's office for 31 years and owns a small business with his family.