Donna Christian-Lowe’s son died of a fentanyl overdose in the spring of 2025. That’s when she decided to run for the Hamilton County Commission, she said.
Christian-Lowe will run against incumbent Commissioner Steve Highlander of Harrison in the Republican primary May 5. She’s running to represent District 9, which also includes parts of Snow Hill and Birchwood. The majority of the district is made up of unincorporated neighborhoods, with the southernmost tip within Chattanooga city limits.
Highlander has held the seat for one four-year term. He was appointed to the commission in 2021 after sitting on the school board for seven years, filling a vacancy left by Chester Bankston, who retired halfway through his term. Highlander was then elected to the seat the following year, winning 75% of the vote against Democrat Steve Caudle. Highlander did not have a Republican challenger during that election cycle.
Christian-Lowe, 55, was born and raised in Hixson and has lived in her Harrison home with her husband for over two decades. She works as a human resources executive and also has her own weekday radio show, where she’s known as the “queen connector.”
‘Queen Connector’ challenging Hamilton County Commissioner Steve Highlander in Republican primary
Her father was a Chattanooga firefighter, she said in an interview, and local politics often touched her family’s life because of that. She reached out to support the city’s firefighters during a recent request for a pay increase, she said. The salary hike was granted in September through an increase in city property taxes.
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She’s always thought about running for something, she said, and began to seriously consider it a couple of years ago. But it was her son’s death that pushed her to finally do so, Christian-Lowe said.
“That really was the turning point,” she said. “It was just one of the things that told me I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to make change.”
Her son was 32 when he died. He had been through rehab, she said, and went through a period of living back home to try and restart his life again. But she noticed that there seemed to be few resources for families trying to get their loved ones back on their feet while suffering from addiction, especially when it comes to finding jobs.
She said she was excited about a new program created by County Mayor Weston Wamp introducing an overdose prevention team made up of paramedics and peer support specialists — people with experience overcoming addiction. But if elected, she would try to build out more of a support system and redirect funding to organizations that help people after they’ve fought addiction, she said. That includes school programs, too, she said.
“There’s a gap from the time they get clean to how they stay clean and go on to a normal life,” Christian-Lowe said. “We don’t have a full cycle process here. Our mayor, thank goodness, is doing something to help, but why is it now? We’ve been talking about fentanyl for many years now.”
She also wants to see where the county can strengthen enforcement when it comes to convicting those who deal drugs laced with fentanyl, she said.
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More broadly, she thinks she could do a better job than Highlander at advocating for improved infrastructure in her district, especially in areas that have added major developments without improvements to roads, Christian-Lowe said.
“No Band-Aids,” she said. “I want to see the plan from ground zero.”
She thinks her district is often forgotten in commissioners’ conversations about bettering the county, she said.
She anticipates developers turning their eyes to Harrison and farther north, and she wants to make sure the district is prepared, she said.
“I promise you, we’re next for growth,” she said. “We are not equipped for the growth we have right now. We are busting at the seams.”
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If she takes office, she’d like to create a task force of developers, business owners, homeowners, older residents and as many other stakeholders she can think of who live in her district. That way, everyone can talk to each other and make a concrete plan about what the future should look like for the area, she said.
She’s also found through door-knocking that older residents across her district are concerned about being priced out of their homes as property taxes increase, she said. She would be in support of implementing a tax freeze for people 65 and older, a program the state allows counties to choose to implement for people with a household income limit up to $60,000, or a lower limit decided by the county.
The County Commission considered a tax freeze in November and decided to delay a vote until July on the issue, just before the county’s general election.
Christian-Lowe would also look into providing relief on grocery and gas taxes for older residents, she said.
“Seniors are scared,” she said. “It’s actually shameful to me that they’re having to ask for help like that. I think we as a community should absolutely look at the tax freeze. I’m open to considering anything for the seniors.”
Christian-Lowe is the board chair of the Harrison Bay Future Ready Center, and she was a founding member of the Ooltewah-Harrison Education Foundation. She was also vice president of diversity and inclusion for the Ooltewah-Collegedale Council section of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.
Whoever wins the Republican primary may effectively win the District 9 seat because there are no Democratic or independent challengers on the ballot of the general election Aug. 6. Early voting starts April 15.
Contact city and county reporter Siena Duncan at sduncan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.