Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly was elected to a second term Tuesday night and said he will fix parking, bolster the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to drive regional growth, encourage more affordable housing, improve workforce development and stay on the gas when it comes to downtown development.
“The people of Chattanooga have spoken, and I’m deeply humbled to have your trust,” Kelly said at an event celebrating his win at the Westin hotel on Tuesday night. “Tonight’s victory is important not just for me but for our entire city. We stood at a crossroads. We could have turned toward the politics of division that has torn a hole in the spirit of our country and so many cities across America. Or we could continue driving Chattanooga towards its true potential, cutting our own path toward our common future.
“Tonight, Chattanooga rejected the petty politics of fear that fan the flames of division. Instead, we chose the politics of hope, progress and of common decency for our neighbors,” he added. “I am well aware that wearing the cheap suit of partisanship can make life a lot easier for a politician, and can make winning easier, but that’s not who I am, and that’s not who we are as a community.”
Creating a great city has nothing to do with culture wars, Kelly told a cheering crowd.