Challenging Warren Mackey, the incumbent, in the Democratic primary for District 4 is Elea Wright, who runs a business with her mother in Ridgedale, where the candidate resides.
Unlike Mackey, who has served on the Hamilton County Commission for nearly two decades, Wright, 34, is a political newcomer with no experience in office.
Commissioner Mackey, in an interview with the Chattanooga Times, pointed to this as an edge over his primary opponent.
“You don’t want a rookie,” Mackey said. “If you brought somebody on that commission, it’s going to take them five, six, seven years to figure out what’s up — where the players are, what buttons to push. Can they be trusted?”