East Ridge Vice Mayor David Tyler and newcomer Robert E. Gilreath won seats on the East Ridge City Council on Tuesday night.
Gilreath defeated Marty Von Schaaf by 39 votes.
James L.C. Meyers finished last, behind Caroline Rossman, who posted on Facebook in September that she had withdrawn from the race.
East Ridge Mayor Brian Williams ran unopposed for his seat and was elected for a third term. He has served as mayor since 2018.
“I was elated and I was truly grateful,” said Tyler in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
The newly elected council members join Andrea Witt and Jeff Ezell, whose terms expire in December 2028. Council member Jacky Cagle died in September after serving 12 years on the council, leaving his seat vacant.
At East Ridge United Methodist Church Tuesday, voters said they didn’t have opinions about the City Council candidates. They cast their votes for other reasons, voters said.
“I practice voting because it’s a right and I’ve not always had that right,” said Pamela Snelling, who is Black and said she doesn’t affiliate with a political party.
Snelling works at Chattanooga Residential Reentry Center and has lived in East Ridge for one year.
“I vote for who I like,” she said, and she steers clear of any candidate with “the beady eyes,” she said.
Voter George Wood was not familiar with the City Council candidates. He came to the polls to cast his vote for independent David Hatley for governor, though Wood said he’s a “lifelong Republican.”
“I’m just tired of seeing what I would say is corruption on both sides,” Wood said. “He (Hatley) ran on not taking anyone’s money. That speaks to a lot of labor workers like myself.”
Wood works long hours running lighting for bands on tour, he said. He believes Hatley would listen to “people who work with their hands” like him, he said.
Tyler and Gilreath both pledged to bring big and small business and investment to East Ridge, in part by extending a special state border region tax district beyond June 2027 and beyond Exit 1, farther west down Ringgold Road toward Missionary Ridge.
(Read more: East Ridge board approves incentives for two new developments)
Tyler said via email that he’s already been working with state Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Brainerd, and Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, on the Border Region Act project, and will continue to do so in his next term.
The Border Region Act of 2011 has helped East Ridge compete with Georgia’s lower sales tax to attract big stores to Exit 1.
Gilreath is a retired general contractor and former lieutenant for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office who has lived in East Ridge for 51 years, according to his campaign website.
The candidates also emphasized support for fire and police employees and a more accessible City Council.
Tyler said stormwater management is a top priority in his next term, after heavy rain flooded and devastated parts of East Ridge and I-24 in August 2025. East Ridge should hire experts to draw up and execute a stormwater management plan and schedule regular infrastructure inspections to minimize backups, he said in an email.
(Read more: Flooding causes problems, evacuations, school closings)
Tyler will continue to champion the improvement of Camp Jordan sports complex, “our greatest asset,” as a “path to prosperity,” he said.
Misty Chauncey defeated incumbent Patricia Cassidy in the race for East Ridge city court clerk. Cassidy was the first person elected to the position in 2014. Before that, it had been an appointed post.
Chauncey’s husband, Mike, a Republican, was unseated from the Hamilton County Commission in August by newcomer Commissioner Josh Wichman, D-East Ridge.
Chauncey said Wednesday that everyone who walks through the court clerk’s office doors will be treated with respect, kindness and efficiency.
“That’s been something that I don’t think our citizens have had the past 12 years,” she said by phone, citing resident feedback she got while knocking on doors.
Chauncey said she’ll also organize and modernize office records and technology.
“I’m just incredibly honored and grateful to have been elected,” she said. “Their votes mean more than words can express.”
The nurse and real estate agent has lived in East Ridge for 20 years.
East Ridge residents also voted to amend the city charter so the city does not pay for health benefits for council members, though the city plan is available to them at their own expense. The city has paid for health benefits for council members since 2013, but Finance Director Diane Qualls said in a phone interview last week that none of the council members had enrolled in the plan.
The Nov. 3 ballot had specified that there is no fiscal impact on the city. The change earned 75% support in Tuesday’s election.
“Right now it doesn’t affect us financially,” Qualls said.
Contact education and opportunity reporter Hannah Campbell at hcampbell@timesfreepress.com.