The 11-member Hamilton County Commission that voters will elect next month will have at least seven faces not a part of the current body and could have – including the two new seats added with redistricting following the 2020 census – as many as nine.
It will be the least experienced commission since the county moved to a mayor/commission form of government in 1978.
The May primary election already decided eight of the seats. Republicans Chip Baker in District 2, Greg Martin in District 3 and Lee Helton in District 7, and Democrat Warren Mackey in District 4, had no opposition in the primary and have no opposition in the general election.
And Republicans Gene-O Shipley in District 1, Mike Chauncey in District 8 and Jeff Eversole in District 10, and Democrat Greg Beck in District 5, won their primary races and have no opposition in the general election.
In the remaining races, the Chattanooga Free Press recommends: