Chattanooga’s four mayoral contenders shared the stage today in a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors.
Mayor Andy Berke and challengers David Crockett, Larry Grohn and Chris Long fielded questions about their plans for crime, public education and economic development. They generally viewed all three topics as interconnected, but gave their own take on how to make Chattanooga a better place to live, work and play.
“I’m an expert on building codes, planning development and I’m in tune with the community, the developers, because I’ve been one,” Long said.
Long, an architectural engineering consultant, regularly blasted the city’s stormwater program as a hindrance to development.
Crockett, a former three-time member of the city council, said Chattanooga leadership required bigger thinking, claiming the city is running on “a dead-stick glide” from transformations he pushed for in the 1990s.