Mayor Andy Berke walks through a doorway during a tour by city officials of the future Family Justice Center on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. When completed, the center will offer services to victims of domestic violence.
Candidates associated with Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke won one race and lost two in Thursday’s election.
Mayor Andy Berke speaks to media outside Calvary Chapel about a domestic assault case involving his advisor Lacie Stone and her husband, Bobby, after the mayor appeared at the Chattanooga Police Department’s annual awards ceremony on Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Chattanooga. Berke declined to answer questions about the case, citing its ongoing nature.Saying he wants to focus on early learning, economic development and getting guns off of the streets, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke announced Tuesday afternoon he will seek re-election in next year’s mayoral race.
“When our citizens have good-paying jobs, when we’re opening the doors of education to all, and when families are safe, together, in their homes, more Chattanoogans can write their own story,” the mayor said.
Berke was introduced by his wife, Monique, and joined at the podium outside the Development Resource Center on Market Street by his two daughters, Hannah, 16, and Orly, 13.
He touted his accomplishments as mayor, saying the city’s economy has improved significantly.
“In four years, unemployment has fallen dramatically, from 8.1 percent in May of 2013 to 4 percent in May of 2016. Families are bringing more money home, thanks to the third-highest wage growth in the country for a mid-sized city,” Berke said. “We’ve seen a building boom downtown and in our surrounding communities. But we also have seen the highest rise in home prices in the mid-South, a sign of growing buying power for more Chattanoogans.”