Elea Wright is challenging an incumbent with decades of experience because nobody else would do it, she said. And she’s not taking donations.
Wright, 34, will run against Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista, in the upcoming Democratic primary for the District 4 seat. The district encompasses a dense area, including Chattanooga’s downtown and neighborhoods like Fort Wood, Orchard Knob and Highland Park.
After living in Chattanooga the majority of her life, Wright would like to give representing her community a try, she said.
Mackey has held his seat for 20 years — five terms — and is running for his sixth.
Wright said since she’s always encouraging others to involve themselves in politics, she figured she would walk the talk — and she thinks there should be a passing of the torch in District 4.
Businesswoman Elea Wright to run against five-term incumbent Warren Mackey in Democratic primary
“I wish that Mackey — so educated, you know, and someone who’s lived in the community for so long — had mentored other people to replace him,” Wright said. “I want government to not be about who is sitting in the chair. I want it to be about the system, and the system putting people first.”
Wright was raised in Chattanooga from kindergarten onward. She lives in Ridgedale, where she runs a family cosmetics business, and has worked various graphics jobs after earning a degree in graphic design from the University of Tennessee.
While she is a first-time candidate, Wright has always considered herself politically active in her community, she said.
She’s an avid attendee of her neighborhood association and has helped other friends trying to start their own in Hilltop and Piney Woods. She always asks people who complain about policies what they’re doing to make their voices heard, she said, and she tries to support those efforts.
Because she has that experience on the other side of politics, she’s hoping she would bring a stronger listening ear to her district if elected, she said. She thinks people in power, Democrat or Republican, are still doing politics the old-fashioned way as she sees it, she said.
“I want the politics that we are experiencing to be more of a conversation that isn’t just, ‘Oh, we’re having this listening session and then we’re going to go do what we had already planned to do with the investors who agreed,'” Wright said. “I want it to be like, ‘Oh, you guys want this? Let’s figure out how to make it happen.’ People-centered.”
(READ MORE: Hamilton County Commission says first yes to term limits)
In graphic design, there’s an emphasis on creating what’s called a “frictionless system,” Wright said. She’s focused on that in her professional life, she said, and she wants to bring that into politics too — building a smooth line of communication between her and the community, and creating a more efficient government.
On the Hamilton County Commission, she’s noticed a laser focus on promoting industry, which would eventually lead to more jobs, Wright said. But policy-wise, she’d like to bring in a focus on services the county can provide for people — and ensuring that companies with an interest in Chattanooga secure jobs for people already living there.
She’s also interested in smart development, especially finding the right use for the former Harriet Tubman public housing site. Attempts to develop there have routinely been delayed, she said, and just from door knocking, she’s discovered that a lot of people within her district want housing and shops there.
And when it comes to schools, she wants to ensure teachers have pay that keeps up with inflation and rising insurance costs, she said.
(READ MORE: School district wages stagnant as Chattanooga, Hamilton County employee salaries grew)
“I do want to give teachers, who are actually doing the work and personally those who influenced me, raises,” Wright said.
She does see property taxes as regressive, and she does not want to raise taxes after the city passed a significant increase, she said, especially knowing her district pays double what others do because it feeds tax revenue to both the city and the county.
But she would take a hard look at the budget to find out where more money could be allocated to schools, she said. Even before she decided to run, she and her sister, Blake Wright — a vocal progressive activist in Chattanooga — had someone who is a forensic accountant look over the county budget.
Wright has not been deeply involved with the local Democratic Party, she said. She doesn’t want to take campaign contributions and get tied up in the politics of doling out favors to people who contribute, she said.
“I find it really frustrating that it feels like you constantly have to pay for representation,” Wright said.
She’s in a stable enough place financially where she thinks she can comfortably run a campaign over the next couple of months, she said. She has support from friends who have offered to volunteer their time.
“I just don’t want to take from the community,” Wright said. “I feel like this community is constantly taken from.”
Wright will face Mackey during the May 5 Democratic primary. There are no other Republican or independent challengers on the ballot, which means the primary may decide the race.
Contact city and county reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.