Mona Petro wants smart growth in North Hamilton County

Democrat Mona Petro said she is seeking a seat on the Hamilton County Commission because she wants to bring a female perspective to the now all-male panel and make sure infrastructure concerns related to growth are addressed.

“We need smarter growth,” Petro said in an interview. “We can have growth when growth pays for growth.”

A catalyst for her run was a car accident she had on the two-lane Lovell Road in Soddy-Daisy, she said.

Because of the road’s narrow median, her car went headfirst into a 4-foot ditch, she said, and was totaled.

“The road was so narrow,” Petro said. “I barely swerved to avoid an animal.”

New developments are going up everywhere, and the roads can’t support the growth, she said.

(READ MORE: Gene-o Shipley wants to keep advocating for northern Hamilton County)

Petro and incumbent Republican Hubert Gene “Gene-o” Shipley, who lives in Soddy-Daisy, are running for County Commission District 1, which includes Soddy-Daisy, Sale Creek and Mowbray Mountain.

Petro, 64, lives in Soddy-Daisy, where she moved in 2019 to care for her parents with her late husband Geno, who died in 2024 from cancer.

North Hamilton County lacks sufficient infrastructure for the growth coming in, she said, and it also lacks needed medical facilities and housing for seniors.

“We had to go outside of the district to get any help,” she said. “Why is all this missing up here?”

While campaigning, Petro said she hasn’t heard people say they are anti-growth, but residents don’t want to see hundreds of new homes that can’t be serviced by local fire departments.

“When their kids finish school, they want them to be able to transition and still be close to home,” she said.

She said she’d like to see a new medical center and new grocery store come to the district.

If elected, Petro said she wants to review all the new construction in the pipeline.

“Is this the highest and best for our residents?” she said. “Are there things that should be added? Are they contributing their fair share to the infrastructure? Do we need to add lanes, turn lanes and traffic lights?”

She said she would support new developer fees that could go to infrastructure needs.

(READ MORE: Gene-o Shipley announces run for second term on Hamilton County Commission)

Though she’s never held an elected office, Petro, who has worked in client relations for American Express and healthcare analysis for Northwestern University Hospital, said she’s always been involved in politics. She grew up in Tennessee, she said, but spent 20 years in Chicago.

After becoming engaged with the local Democratic Party and attending County Commission meetings regularly, she said she was surprised by the lack of women on the majority Republican, 11-member commission.

“Why isn’t our population being represented?” Petro said.

The lack of representation has led to concerning decisions, she said, such as the 2025 closure of the Hamilton County Health Department’s Soddy-Daisy clinic, which was replaced with a mobile health unit.

“A lot of people depended on that health center that closed,” she said. “Of course it will cut cost, but at whose expense?”

Petro said she wants to have regular town halls in her district to discuss healthcare, development and other issues because it can take almost an hour for residents to get to a County Commission meeting.

She said she supports realigning Plan Hamilton, the comprehensive growth strategy for the unincorporated parts of Hamilton County, which the County Commission narrowly approved Wednesday. (Shipley voted against the plan.)

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Subject matter experts should inform the plan, she said.

“There should have been more input, more unbiased input,” she said. “Is it going to be perfect either way? No. Can we evolve from it? Yes. What it starts with is not how it ends.”

Petro said she doesn’t think the recommendations of a new county Department of Planning will differ from the Regional Planning Agency. Earlier this year, the County Commission voted to end the county’s inter-local agreement with the planning agency to make reports on cases in unincorporated areas, pulling $900,000 from the agency.

When it comes to business recruitment, she said she would be very skeptical of the use of tax incentives.

“Why are we giving away the store?” she said. “New companies want to come to Tennessee. They are already getting a sweet deal by just moving here.”

County commissioners are elected to serve four-year terms.

Marlene Stasulas said she’s supporting Petro because she’s impressed with Petro’s intelligence, personality, energy and her background in project management and healthcare.

“Mona is a critical thinker,” she said by text. “She won’t blindly follow what the mayor or other commissioners want her to do if she thinks otherwise. She truly has the best interests of all the people of District 1 at heart.”

Contact projects editor Joan McClane at jmcclane@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601.