When Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly sought the city’s chief executive position in 2021, he had 14 opponents in the non-partisan campaign. In his re-election bid this year, he has one.
In 2021, he loaned his campaign more than $1 million and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. In his re-election bid, he doesn’t need a whole lot.
Chattanooga has granted a second term to the last six mayors who asked for one, and Kelly is likely to be no exception. His only opponent, Chris Long, is a three-time candidate who has been exposed for falsifying his educational credentials, sharing racially charged posts on social media and receiving a stalking charge (that eventually was dismissed).
Fortunately, the mayor isn’t just the only acceptable candidate but deserves a second term on the merits.
We didn’t endorse Kelly 2021, opting for now-University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Vice Chancellor for Advancement Kim White, but were never in doubt about his intelligence, preparation, confidence and desire to effect a better city.