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By Dan Whisenhunt
dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com
With 5.1 percent of precincts reporting, Bill Hullander leads incumbent trustee Carl Levi, 1,625 votes to 1,111.
The trustee is the treasurer for the county and collects all county property taxes. The trustee is elected to a four-year term.
Mr. Hullander, 64, and Mr. Levi, 79, both are longtime public servants. Mr. Hullander first was elected to the commission in 1998 and gave up his seat to run for trustee. Mr. Levi first was elected trustee in 2002. Their campaign spilled over into their work as elected officials. During the campaign, Mr. Hullander twice questioned Mr. Levi during regular commission meetings about awarding a banking contract.
Mr. Hullander said he was not campaigning from the dais or running a negative campaign after Mr. Levi accused him of doing both. Mr. Hullander said he wanted to make the trustee’s office more customer friendly and more efficient. Mr. Levi said the office is efficient and that he had more experience than Mr. Hullander.
The trustee’s salary is $100,772.
There was no Democratic or independent opponent for the county general election in August. County officials will be sworn in Sept. 1.
All vote totals, which include federally mandated provisional ballots, are unofficial until certified by the Tennessee Division of Elections.