Hamilton County Commission is expected to name a replacement March 29 to fill the District 3 school board seat vacated by Everett Fairchild, who resigned from his post for health reasons March 15. There are 11 candidates seeking to fill the remainder of his term until 2014.
Candidates for the post include Mendi Catlett, Mary Lewis, Ken Smith, David Cowan, Laurie Shipley, Tammy Zumbrun, James Goebel, Greg Martin, Joy Ward, Joe Smith and Charles Elliott. At least four are current or former educators, and at least two had Fairchild as a principal during their own education.
Parents and grandparents of students in Hamilton County’s District 3 joined elected officials from the county and city of Chattanooga to hear the responses of the candidates during a public forum held at Hixson Middle School hosted by Friends of Hixson.
“We think education is the heart and soul of a thriving community,” said Marv Martin, as to why Friends of Hixson decided to hold the forum. Martin served on the forum’s panel with CPA David Queen and Memorial Hospital Hixson Senior Vice President Deb Moore. Chip Chapman of WDEF News 12 was the evening’s moderator.
“To see [the candidates] and listen to them side by side answering kind of the same question gives you a good measuring stick to size them up and see which are strong in the areas of importance to me,” said District 4 Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey.