The Chattanooga Times Free Press asked candidates in contested races to participate in a short survey covering aspects of their lives and experiences. Two candidates for mayor – incumbent Mayor Tim Kelly and challenger Chris Long – will appear on city residents’ ballots. Kelly answered questions from the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The newspaper reached out to Long to ask for his participation but did not receive responses. Quotations from Long below are drawn from a Feb. 10 candidate forum in which he participated.
Mayor
– Office: Mayor of Chattanooga
– Number of residents: 187,030 as of the U.S. Census’ population July 2023 estimate
– Incumbent: Tim Kelly
– Key issues in the race: Affordable housing, perception of public safety, responsive government
– Duties of the mayor: The city mayor’s represents the executive branch of Chattanooga’s government. The mayor can veto ordinances passed by the city council, though the council can override that veto. The mayor also appoints city department heads and fire and police chiefs.
– Pay for position: Mayor Tim Kelly’s salary is set at $196,100.
Early voting started Wednesday in the March 4 Chattanooga city races and will run through Feb. 27. All nine city council seats and the office of mayor are up for election.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly speaks during a public hearing by the Tennessee Public Utility Commission at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Oct. 28, 2024. Kelly is on the ballot for reelection.Tim Kelly
– Age: 57
– Years in city: 53
– Education: Received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree from Emory University
– Occupation: Mayor of Chattanooga
– Experience/qualifications: “I grew up in Chattanooga, raised my family in Chattanooga, started multiple businesses in Chattanooga. I’ve been on the executive committee of multiple nonprofits in Chattanooga, and I think that that’s given me a unique perspective on what Chattanooga’s problems are and what the solutions are to those problems. That, combined with now having had four years of experience in city government, as well as 30 years of management experience in the private sector, I think makes me pretty uniquely qualified in this race to do four more years, to finish the job.”
– Family: Two sons.
– Amount raised, per latest disclosure forms: $96,000
– Website or social media page: kellyforcha.com
Why are you running? “I’m running this time for the same reason I ran last time: I’m not a politician. I’ve never been. I’ve never run for anything before I ran for mayor. But I spent enough time in the philanthropic and business world in Chattanooga that I felt like somebody needed to make some bold decisions to move Chattanooga forward. That is why. I feel like Chattanooga has the potential to be the best city in the United States, but that requires some vision and leadership.”
Why should voters choose you? “Experience, in a word. The city of Chattanooga has a strong mayor model. We do not have a city manager, and I’m the only candidate in this race with any significant management experience. I have a tremendous amount of management experience, not only outside of government, but now four years inside government, and it is quite the task making a 2,600-person service delivery organization run. It’s really not a political job. It is really much more like a CEO’s job, and we shouldn’t be putting anybody in that role who doesn’t have significant management experience.”
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Christopher Long discusses his campaign for Chattanooga mayor at the Pachyderm Club meeting on Jan. 13, 2024.Chris Long
– Age: 60
– Years lived in city: No answer
– Education: Attended Southern Adventist University
– Occupation: Consultant
– Experience/qualifications: “I’m a lifelong resident of the city of Chattanooga. I’ve been in the building industry, mostly in consulting. I’ve done a lot of consulting out in Colorado Springs, working behind the scenes in the government. I understand how the government works. I’ve worked with connections with Washington, D.C.”
– Family: Married, has a son.
– Amount raised, per latest disclosure forms: $2,600
– Website or social media page: chrislongformayor2025.com
Why are you running? “I’ve seen everything that’s going on here with the problems we have in Chattanooga that we need to address, and I think we need to change direction.”
Why should voters choose you? “We’re heading down in the wrong direction when it comes to One Chattanooga, in a 15-minute city, our road infrastructure. We’re getting our cart before our horse. We’re building too much. We’re not taking care of our infrastructure. So, we need to address those, and we need to address crime, and we need to put trade schools on scale. And we need to bring them back into our schools around here, and I have a lot of ideas on how to do that and get people motivated to work in skills because we’re losing skilled labor, and there’s nobody that’s been addressing that.”
Contact Mariah Franklin at mfranklin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.