Voters in Bradley and Polk counties filled school board vacancies Tuesday.
Rodney Dillard was elected by District 5 voters to the Bradley County Board of Education.
According to unofficial but complete returns from the Bradley County Election Commission, Dillard received 776 votes. His opponent, Jerry “J.J.” Johnson, received 555 votes.
Dillard will fill a vacancy created on the Bradley County board by the death of Terry McGuire last summer. Two years remain in that term.
Dillard, PTO president for Lake Forest Middle School, is employed by Bi-Lo as district manager for 14 stores. Johnson is operations manager for Bradley County Emergency Management and formerly served in law enforcement, including as a county student resource officer.
On Tuesday night Dillard said, “My number one goal is to keep the children first. When votes come up, I will study them and think it through before I vote. I want to make sure the money is spent on the right things. Bradley County will continue to grow, and we have to address that growth.”
Johnson said McGuire “was a dear friend.” Seeking to fill the vacancy, he said, was another way to serve the community.
In Polk County, Tracy Bishop and Mike Woody sought to fill the District 1 unexpired term of Tracy McAbee, who resigned to become the principal at Benton Elementary.
With only unofficial early vote totals available in Polk County at 8:45 p.m., Bishop, with 390 votes, was leading Woody, who had 167 votes.
Bishop works at a family business, Bishop Auto. In the past he worked at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and a local bank. Woody is self-employed at Ocoee Storage.
Contact Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com or 423-314-1029.