Montrell Besley says he’s ready to support all communities in one of the Hamilton County Commission’s most diverse districts.
Besley is running as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Commissioner Joe Graham, who lives in Lookout Valley. They’re vying to represent District 11, which represents Chattanooga neighborhoods of Southside, East Lake, Alton Park, St. Elmo, Lookout Valley and parts of Missionary Ridge. It also includes the sections of Lookout Mountain within the county.
Besley first ran against Graham in 2022 and lost by a few dozen votes. In an interview, Besley said he’s ready for a rematch.
“When I sit and listen in those County Commission meetings, I look around, and I can tell that people’s voices are not being heard,” Besley said. “When you have lines almost flowing out the doors of those chambers, you can tell people’s voices are not being heard. That’s not right.”
Besley, 45, lives with his wife in Alton Park, where they raised three children. He has lived in Alton Park all his life, he said. He owns a small business and also owns a commercial property that he hopes to turn into a grocery market on weekends, he said.
(READ MORE: Joe Graham running for fourth term, seeking school investment and low taxes)
If elected, one of his major priorities would be to reemphasize the government’s health services at its county-run clinics, he said.
Besley said he has been disappointed to see County Mayor Weston Wamp’s administration and the current County Commission pass a budget closing a pediatric dental clinic and downsizing clinics in Ooltewah and Soddy-Daisy into mobile health units.
“We’re dropping health facilities like it’s the right thing to do,” Besley said. “We still have communities that need them across the county.”
Besley also wants to advocate for more investment in education, he said. He wants the county government to strengthen its public schools in his district, he said, rather than rely on some of its elementary students feeding into private schools.
For a couple of the elementary schools in his district, there is no middle school close by to feed into, he said. If elected, by the end of his term, he’d like to see a new middle school built in the district, he said.
He’d like to see the school be built somewhere near The Howard School, if not inside its existing facilities. That way, the future middle school could feed directly into the high school, completing the missing link, he said.
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He also thinks Calvin Donaldson Elementary deserves an entirely new building, Besley said.
“We’ve put so many patches on that building,” he said.
Besley wants to work with the Chattanooga city leaders in his district to pool county and city resources and revitalize neighborhoods in his district that have suffered from slow economic growth over the years, like Alton Park and East Lake, he said.
There was a time when historically Black-owned businesses thrived in the neighborhoods he grew up in, he said, and he wants to find a way to bring that back.
There has been significant economic growth in Lookout Valley and St. Elmo, he said, which has brought in new housing and wealth. He wants to see the same thing for Alton Park and East Lake, he said.
State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, represents neighborhoods that are included in the district.
By phone, Hakeem said he’s known Besley for at least a decade. Besley is best suited for the job because he would properly represent the district, Hakeem said.
“District 11 has the chance to elect a true community servant,” Hakeem said. “He will do all he can to follow through on what he says he wants to do and will do for the people. We have a lot of young people who need to see people from the inner city who represent them well and be an example.”
OFFICE DETAILS
Duties: County commissioners set the county property tax rate, vote on the annual budget, approve county contracts and vote on local zoning requests.
District: District 11 includes Southside, East Lake, Alton Park, St. Elmo, Lookout Valley, Lookout Mountain and parts of Missionary Ridge.
Key issues: School funding in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, housing affordability, economic growth and local business development.
Timing: New commissioners take office Sept. 1, 2026.
Salary: As of fiscal year 2027, commissioners are paid about $28,600 a year.
THE ELECTION
The general election is Aug. 6, and early voting runs July 17-Aug. 1.
WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND
Do you think the school budget is adequately funded?
“No. We’re still losing teachers to Georgia and Alabama and North Carolina. We wouldn’t lose as many teachers if the school system was adequately funded. Could the school system probably cut a few things? Probably so. But our teachers need more support. Our teachers need to be able to afford to live in Hamilton County. We have a lot of teachers that live outside the county, and that’s by force, not by choice … We have to do a better job at supporting education and supporting whatever superintendent that’s in place.”
– Montrell Besley, Democrat
“I think it’s adequately funded with the percentages that we give them, yes … But that’s a question really and truly for the school board. That’s for them to decide where they are utilizing the monies that they have and where it’s best used and not best used. I highly respect our school board because they are elected officials just like we are … For example, I want to see remodeling the (The Howard School) building and adding an addition. I really want to see that get done. But that’s the school board’s league. I’m there to support them.”
– Joe Graham, Republican
Do you think your district is growing too fast or too slow?
“Too slow. There hasn’t been enough investment. You see the growth in Lookout Valley, that’s great, I love it. St. Elmo is really getting a big boom. But when it comes to Alton Park and East Lake, they’ve looked the same since I was a kid. At one point, Alton Park was thriving, but when those guys and ladies got older, their businesses kind of fizzled out and got sold to people who didn’t care about the community. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to revitalize 23rd Street, 38th Street, Alton Park Boulevard … It’s slow growth. We need to speed it up about 10 notches to medium growth.”
– Montrell Besley, Democrat
“I think it’s the greatest district in Hamilton County. It’s got a mix of everybody: the richest, the poorest, every nationality. I think it is by far the best district. And it is growing. The stadium was a big help to us as far as growth. It’s yet to see if it’s growing too fast, but we are growing.”
– Joe Graham, Republican
Contact city and county reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.