Local politicians are gearing up for a fall of campaigning prior to the November elections. The qualifying deadline for municipal elections is Aug. 18 at noon.
As of press time, people who have picked up papers for Lakesite City Commission include incumbents David Howell, Bill Neighbors and 18-year council veteran and current Vice Mayor John McPherson. Retired TVA mechanic Curtis Jones, who ran for a seat on the commission in 2014, has also picked up a petition.
In the city of Red Bank, several people plan to vie for the District 2 city commissioner seat currently occupied by Rick Causer, whose term expires this year. Bill Cannon, an engineering coordinator for the city of Chattanooga and member of the Red Bank Planning Commission, has qualified, and Mike Congdon, past president of the Red Bank Neighborhood Pride Association and former chairman of the Red Bank Chamber Council, has picked up papers. Carol Rose, who along with Cannon and Congdon served on Red Bank’s Zoning Review Board in 2014, has qualified as well.
Current Red Bank Vice Mayor Eddie Pierce, whose term ends this year, has qualified to run for commissioner-at-large.
Those who have qualified to run for Soddy-Daisy City Commission, for which three seats are up for re-election, are incumbents Jim Adams and Geno Shipley; and Max Lowe, a former commissioner who served as a volunteer firefighter in the city for more than 40 years. James V. Carden; Bill Layne, who requested that his property on Bowman Road be de-annexed from the city in October 2014; and current Vice Mayor Patti Skates, who recently lost her bid for the District 1 school board seat to incumbent Rhonda Thurman, have all picked up papers.
District 3 School Board Representative Greg Martin is running for the district’s county commission seat, which will be vacated by Marty Haynes when he takes office as the county’s assessor of property Sept. 1. Kerry Steelman, administrator of elections for the Hamilton County Election Commission, said the county commission has the option to appoint an interim before the election.
Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lee said several Democrats have expressed an interest in running for the soon-to-be-open seat, but no one had announced his or her intention to campaign as of press time.
The qualifying deadline for the county commission race is Sept. 14 at noon.
The Republican and Democratic caucuses for the seat are Sept. 8, and the winner for each party will be on the ballot this November.
If Martin is voted onto the county commission, he will nominate a replacement for his school board seat, which will be decided by a vote of the county commissioners.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 757-6508.