With the primary election in the rearview mirror, the Republican candidate for the District 2 Hamilton County Commission seat faces an independent challenger who thinks he can overcome not having a party affiliation.
Jim Fields, a local attorney, unseated District 2 incumbent Richard Casavant on May 4 in an upset. He will face independent challenger David Cantrell, a local pilot, in the Aug. 5 general election.
Both men say they've got the leadership skills to serve the district well. District 2 covers Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Walden, Falling Water, Mountain Creek and portions of Lookout Valley.
"I've been involved in areas in our community for well over 20 years, and I've hopefully established a fairly decent reputation from doing that," Mr. Fields said. "I know a lot of folks in Hamilton County just from the fact I've served on numerous boards."
Mr. Cantrell believes he has a more diverse background than Mr. Fields.
"I have a wider background," Mr. Cantrell said. "I also have lived several places. I've lived in the Atlanta area, and I've seen the runaway growth there. I have a broader viewpoint of what cities look like and where they should develop."
One issue that's likely to come up is education. Mr. Fields said he is plugged in to what's going on in public schools.
"My position has always been is parents have the obligation to choose the best educational system for their children," he said.
Mr. Cantrell said schools are "vitally important."
"We have too many kids taking remedial courses," he said. "Ten percent of our elementary school kids can't read at their grade level."
Both men say they've met and discussed the campaign generally.
Richard Wilson, a local political observer and professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said Mr. Cantrell faces an uphill climb because he has no party affiliation.
"Tennessee has one of the lowest tolerances for independent candidates of any state of the union," Mr. Wilson said. "We don't do independents here."
Mr. Cantrell said that while party affiliation is a factor, he thinks he has a good chance of winning because this will be "the year of upsets."
"I feel like I'm the underdog," Mr. Cantrell said. "My attitude is we're going to have to work harder and get our message out there."
Mr. Fields said he doesn't think party affiliation matters.
"Several people have mentioned that to me and I tell them two things: The Titanic was unsinkable and Dewey won," Mr. Fields said, referring to the historic gaffe where a newspaper headline declared Thomas E. Dewey had defeated Harry S. Truman for president. "I am not taking for granted the election because I'm the Republican candidate."
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