Three candidates pick up petitions for Chattanooga mayoral race

photo Jim Folkner
Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog

Three people picked up petitions Friday morning to run in a Chattanooga mayoral recall election slated for Aug. 2.

Jim Folkner, with Citizens to Recall Mayor Littlefield; Landon Howard, a local community organizer; and Guy Satterfield, a retired city employee, picked up petitions just after the Hamilton County Election Commission opened its doors at 8 a.m.

"I'm glad to see other people pick up papers," said Folkner, who helped lead the recall effort of Mayor Ron Littlefield.

Littlefield has filed suit to stop the recall. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 10 in Circuit Court Judge Jeff Hollingsworth's courtroom.

Until the challenge is resolved, anyone wishing to run for Chattanooga mayor in the August election can pick up papers.

The recall drive was organized 18 months ago, focusing on complaints over rising stormwater fees and property taxes and gang violence.

Folkner said he hoped the opening of campaigns for the recall would encourage open discussion.

"We can begin to talk about these issues that Mr. Littlefield swept under the rug," he said.

Howard said he wanted to be able to inject into debates his own issues of humanity and putting people before profits.

"We are a city of human beings, and we need someone to represent us as human beings and not corporations," he said.

Satterfield said he has no affiliation with the tea party or the recall movement. He said he had been planning to run for mayor since he retired. His original plan was next year, but he thought he would get a head start, he said.

"For 10 years, I've always said I was going to run in 2013," Satterfield said.

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