Chattanooga City Council incumbents win big; two runoffs set

Staff File Photo / The mayor and next mayor and current and future Chattanooga City Councils — who meet at City Hall — could determine what part race and gender should play in awarding city contracts. Staff File Photo / The mayor and next mayor and current and future Chattanooga City Councils — who meet at City Hall — could determine what part race and gender should play in awarding city contracts.

By Sarah Grace Taylor, Patrick Filbin March 2, 2021 4 min read

Chattanooga City Council races on Tuesday showed community support for incumbent council members who were re-elected, with runoffs set for April to fill two open seats, in District 2 and District 5.

Of the three council seats being vacated, only one was filled during Tuesday’s general election. District 7 elected community advocate Raquetta Dotley over former mayoral chief of staff Ken Hays to replace councilman Erskine Oglesby. Oglesby will forfeit his seat at the end of this, his first term, after running unsuccessfully for mayor.

In the other two open districts – District 2, vacated by retiring councilman Jerry Mitchell, and District 5, vacated by councilman Russell Gilbert who also ran unsuccessfully for mayor – crowded fields forced runoff elections.

Hamilton County Board of Education Member Jenny Hill got 45.4% of the vote to replace Mitchell, and business owner Thomas Lee received 31.4%, meaning the two will proceed to a runoff election. Chemical engineer Tim Gorman was defeated, with 20% of the vote.