Key election dates
Feb: 28: Last day to request absentee ballotFeb. 15-March 2: Early voting periodMarch 7: Election Day
Six out of nine Chattanooga City Council districts will be contested in the March 7 city election.
Incumbents Carol Berz and Ken Smith, who represent Districts 6 and 3, respectively, face no challengers. Council newcomer Darrin Ledford runs an uncontested race for District 4, left vacant by Larry Grohn to pursue the Chattanooga mayor’s seat. Eighteen contenders vie for the other six seats.
Crime and workforce development issues took front and center of many of the candidate campaigns, as did the need for road and sidewalk maintenance and improvements.
On the surface, this City Council election presents voters with circumstances similarly to the 2013 election, when two incumbents went unchallenged and two other incumbents did not seek re-election.