Retired bank president Jack Allen will square off against U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Southeast Tennessee, for his District 3 congressional seat, which stretches across 10 counties including Hamilton, McMinn and Bradley.
"I'm just an upbeat guy," Allen, who's running as a Democrat, said in a phone interview Monday. "I always have been. The glass is 98% full. Everything we're talking about can be fixed, but you've got to fix it by pulling people together."
Allen had a formal campaign announcement Saturday afternoon at the downtown branch of the Chattanooga Public Library, an event his campaign said attracted nearly 70 people.
A primary election will be held Aug. 1, followed by the general election on Nov. 5, according to the Hamilton County Election Commission website.
Allen grew up in LaFayette, Georgia, and shared a rental house with his mother, father and three sisters outside of town, he said. By the time he was in sixth grade, his family was able to buy a 1,200-square-foot home in the city, which at the time felt like a mansion.
"I got to follow the American dream," Allen said.
He worked in a grocery store, as a mechanic, on the third shift at a carpet mill and hauled hay and caught chickens on a farm. Allen attended Berry College, earning a bachelor's degree in business and accounting, and ultimately took a job in Athens, Tennessee.
He spent approximately 35 years at Citizens National Bank, starting as an accountant before working his way up to president, and served in leadership roles at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and on the McMinn County Library Board, his campaign said. His wife, Connie, also was an active member of the community before dying of ovarian cancer about 10 years ago, Allen said.
Allen is interested in tackling the federal government's skyrocketing debt, which has climbed to more than $34 trillion, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. That amounts to about $101,000 for every single person in America.
"I have a financial background, and I've always balanced budgets, whether it was our bank or the church or the civic club," Allen said. "It's just common sense."
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People seem disinterested in addressing the national debt because they see it as a difficult problem to overcome, Allen said, and he's concerned about how it will affect future generations.
"They're going to be straddled with a huge problem if we don't clean it up," Allen said. "I think it's our responsibility."
The last time the nation had a surplus was in 2001, and since then, the federal government's budget has run at a deficit each year, meaning spending has outpaced revenue. To pay for the deficit, the government borrows money by selling bonds, bills and other securities, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Americans also agree the country needs to control its border, Allen said, and should have a sensible immigration plan.
"We need people who want to come to this country and look for the American dream like everybody else," he said, adding that a declining birth rate could affect employers.
The birth rate in the United States dropped 23% between 2007 and 2022, according to Axios, dropping from 14.3 births per 1,000 people to 11.1.
Even in Chattanooga, Allen said, he sees "help wanted" signs outside restaurants.
"People have a hard time finding people to work," Allen said. "Having people who want to come into the country and work is not a bad thing. Not having a system in place, which we have not had in many years — and many administrations can be blamed for it — is not a good thing."
(READ MORE: Fleischmann tops Congressional earmarks list with Chickamauga Lock)
Allen said he's not interested in assigning blame for the nation's problems.
"We're not going to talk about the things people did or didn't do," Allen said. "We're going to look forward. You're not going to hear us use the word, 'fight.' ... I think the days of fighting need to be over because as all the fighting goes on, the people in the 3rd District are losing."
Fleischmann has represented District 3 in the U.S. House since 2011, and he won reelection in 2022 with more than twice the votes of his Democratic challenger, Meg Gorman — 136,639 compared to 60,334 according to Ballotpedia. He serves on the House appropriations and science, space and technology committees.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.