David Crockett, a former three-term Chattanooga City Council member and Council Chairman, has announced he will run for the Chattanooga mayor's seat.
He served as the director of the city's Office of Sustainability during the administration of Mayor Ron Littlefield. He resigned from the post when the office combined with the Regional Planning Agency in 2012.
So far, three other candidates have either announced campaigns or submitted qualifying papers for the mayoral race, including Mayor Andy Berke, City Councilman Larry Grohn and Chris Long.
Crockett cites his experience as "a widely-known driving force in Chattanooga's renaissance in the previous two decades."
His announcement also highlights his "long-term, creative role in the city's transformation," including Chattanooga' greenways, Greenway Farm, the Southside redevelopment, Enterprise South and the proposed high-speed rail connection to Atlanta.
"While nurturing a young family and a job with IBM, he helped jumpstart the city's largest neighborhood association collaborative [H.E.L.P.] in Hixson that led to Chattanooga's first community visioning and area plan," said Crockett's announcement. "That led to his activist role in support of other early community-planning initiatives across the city starting with Glenwood and including the Chattanooga Creek neighborhoods in South Chattanooga."
He says he has spoken and worked with city governments, economic development bodies and universities in every state and Canadian province, as well as a number of cities across the globe.
Crockett says he remains "a noted advocate for higher goals for the rebirth of Chattanooga and other cities.
Elections for the Chattanooga mayor and City Council members will be held March 7, in accordance with the city charter.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.