Dick Cook announced Monday he is running as a write-in candidate for mayor of East Ridge in the Nov. 8 municipal election.
Cook’s sole opponent is incumbent Mayor Brian Williams.
“When the candidate I was backing failed to meet the qualifying deadline and former City Councilman Denny Manning withdrew from the election, that left the incumbent unopposed,” Cook said in a news release. “I wanted to give the taxpayers of this city who are unhappy with this administration a choice.”
A lifelong resident of the city who studied political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Cook said in a phone interview that he has followed the city’s politics closely as an adult and has covered City Council meeting for years as a journalist with East Ridge News Online.
“I think I’ve got the pulse of the city, and I think the sentiment is that people want a change,” Cook said.
If elected, Cook said his No. 1 goal would be to reset the city’s priorities.
He said that over the past six to eight years, city officials focused on funding parks and recreation and neglected other city departments — particularly the Street Department and code enforcement.
Cook’s top priorities as mayor would be public safety, fire and police, followed by streets and sanitation, he said.
“I think the least we could do is provide safe streets for our motoring public,” Cook said.
He said the city could do a better job of maximizing the revenue from the Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act, a piece of legislation East Ridge received in 2012.
Under that legislation, the state gives East Ridge 4.125% of the 7% sales tax revenue that any new businesses inside a 940-acre zone at the Ringgold Road and Interstate 75 interchange generates in a fiscal year.
East Ridge can give some of that money to developers, making it easier to land big-name retailers that would increase sales tax revenues. With that revenue, East Ridge can pay off any debt it accrues in the process and offer incentives for businesses to relocate to the zone.
Cook said in February city officials voted to give the developers of two liquor stores in the border region $3.5 million each, which he believes was an unnecessary giveaway that could have been better spent on other reimbursable expenditures that would benefit the city’s taxpayers, such as paving roads in the area.
(READ MORE: East Ridge City Council puts limits, requirements on liquor stores)
Nate Foster, Hamilton County Election Commission assistant election administrator, said by email that it is not unusual to have certified write-in candidates join a race, especially in the November elections.
Certified write-in candidates are subject to the same rules and regulations, including the timely filing of financial paperwork, as candidates who appear on the ballot, he said.
“The essential difference between certified write-in candidates is that their name does not appear on the ballot like other candidates,” Foster said. “Because their name does not appear on the ballot, it is even more vital that they inform voters about their campaign and why their constituents should vote for them.”
Early voting started on Oct. 19 and ends Nov. 3.
Cook previously worked at the Chattanooga Free Press and the Times Free Press.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.