On Tuesday, Chattanoogans will vote to elect a new mayor and up to seven new council members, setting the tone for at least the next four years in the city.
Every voter will have the chance to support one of 15 mayoral candidates on the ballot to succeed two-term Mayor Andy Berke, who leaves office in April.
Frontrunners for the mayoral seat include Harvard University graduate, entrepreneur and social equality advocate Monty Bruell; former city attorney for Berke and Unum vice president of diversity and inclusion Wade Hinton; business owner and Chattanooga Football Club chair Tim Kelly; and Kim White, former president and CEO of both River City Co. and the Corker Group.
The election could end in history if Bruell, Hinton or another of the eight Black candidates is elected as Chattanooga’s first Black mayor, or if White or another of the three women in the race is elected as Chattanooga’s first female mayor.
It could just as likely end in an April runoff.