The following is one in a series of survey responses provided to the Times Free Press by candidates for public office in advance of the Nov. 3 general election. Today we highlight candidates for East Ridge's City Council. Voters are being asked to fill two at-large seats from a pool of six candidates. The candidates' answers are presented in alphabetical order.
Jeff Ezell (no response)
Robert E. Gilreath Jr. (no photo available)
* Affiliation: Republican
* Previous public office experience: Candidate for East Ridge City Council, 2018
* Why should voters choose you? I will diligently return the voice of East Ridge to city council. My priority is to support the Fire & Police and ensure they have the equipment necessary to protect our citizens. I will heavily utilize the Boarder Region Act to promote growth throughout the entirety of East Ridge.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? The Fire and Police desperately need funding for essential equipment and operations. Businesses and citizens need to be educated about the Boarder Region Act so it can be utilized fully. Focus needs to be spread to the entirety of East Ridge especially Upper East Ridge.
* How will you address this challenge? I will work to put oversight of Fire & Police into the hands of the city council and not one individual. I will create open lines of communication between the city council, landlords, and landowners so that the Boarder Region Act may be properly utilized to its fullest extent. Through aforesaid communication, I will work to bring new business and revitalization to Upper East Ridge.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? It would be my interest to completely revive & revamp the original outdated 1921 East Ridge Charter in order to move more authority to the city council and away from one individual. I would like to see more authority spread to each department head and away from one individual.
* What past or current public servant do you most admire? Why? Ronald Reagan – I believe in small government and being a great communicator. I will work to return the voice of the city to the citizens and communicate to the best of my ability on their behalf in as transparent of a manner as possible.
* Campaign website: www.robertegilreath.com
* Age on Election Day: 69
* Occupation: Retired
* Employer: Retired
* Education: Tyner High School, Cleveland State Community College
* Family: Wife - Bonnie M. Gilreath, Son - Joshua C. Gilreath
* Neighborhood of residence: Shady Grove
* Church/civic involvement: Member-GraceWorks Church
* A quote or saying you live by: "Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in.'" - Ronald Reagan
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-381-5834
Esther HeltonEsther Helton
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Previous public office experience: East Ridge Vice Mayor and TN State Representative District 30
* Why should voters choose you? I care about the people I represent. I want to continue to represent your views & your voice on the council. I want to work to enhance the future of East Ridge. A future I believe is brighter than ever. I know the strongest communities are anchored in a spirit of collaboration. I listen and I am engaged in our town. I bring an all encompassing community perspective to the Council. I am passionate and work hard to get things done.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? As I have knocked on doors, voters have said public safety is their number one concern.
* How will you address this challenge? Continue to make fully funding our Fire & Police Depts the top priority in our budget. We need to reactivate and re-energize our Neighborhood Watch Program. We need neighbors looking out for neighbors and working with law enforcement. We must be willing to address our crime issues, if we are to increase our single family home ownership in East Ridge.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? We need to form an exploratory committee and collaborate with other cities that have successfully done this in the past few years. If we want to be the best and brightest city in Hamilton County (and I think we can be) we need to seek opportunities that encourage people to move to East Ridge.
* What past or current public servant do you most admire? Why? Abraham Lincoln because of his unwavering belief in the credo "All men are created equal."
* Campaign website: www.electesther.com
* Age on Election Day: 58
* Occupation: Nurse
* Employer: State Representative House District 30
* Education: East Ridge High School, Class of 1980 Chattanooga School of Nursing, 1981
* Family: Three adult children - Lee, Lisa and Kip. Five wonderful grandchildren
* Neighborhood of residence: n/a
* Church/civic involvement: Graceworks Church, East Ridge Alumni Association, East Ridge Optimist Club, Elks Lodge #91
* A quote or saying you live by: In a world where you can be anything, be kind
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-883-1536
Denny Manning (no response)
David TylerDavid Tyler
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Why should voters choose you? I became a candidate for city council because I want to see continued economic progress for the citizens of East Ridge. The economic development on Exit 1 has been a good direction for the city, but we have yet to see those benefits on the west end of town. While many East Ridge citizens are aware of the benefits of putting money into Camp Jordan, there is a desire to improve the west end of East Ridge and create a new economic center for the city, and I am the only candidate with the vision to make this happen.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? I think the biggest challenge facing East Ridge is the continued decay of the west end of town. With many businesses sitting empty or abandoned, the lack of economic development has contributed to the rise of crime in the city. If we are to get crime under control, we need to improve the west end of town and clean up the city center.
* How will you address this challenge? "The top priority will be to move forward with the multi-modal project and begin improvements to Ringgold Road. This will be an important step in improving the west end of East Ridge, which would be a second priority. The city was awarded the money to move forward with improvements in 2015 but the project has not taken off yet, and many East Ridge citizens are ready for this to happen. The third priority will be to bring more businesses to East Ridge by taking advantage of the new improvements to Ringgold Road and marketing the advantages to starting a business in East Ridge. It would be great to see an open-air farmer's market or brewery come to town!
I am pro-business, pro law enforcement, and against raising property taxes. The more businesses that sit empty on the west end of town, the less money in sales tax the city can bring in. This could lead to elected officials raising property taxes to fund the economic expansions on Exit 1 and at Camp Jordan. We should be bringing new businesses into the west end and use the new taxes to improve the lives of the community. I would also like to see that our law enforcement, fire department, and other city services have the adequate funding to buy the equipment they need to meet the demands of a growing city."
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? I have knocked on many doors and I have met with many of the voters in East Ridge. It has been an honor to get to know so many people and hear their concerns and hopes for the city. One of the most surprising thing people have asked me was whether or not I support allowing people to keep chickens on their property. So, I will officially go on record and say that I support people being allowed to own hens on their property, but not roosters.
* Campaign website: votedavidtyler.com
* Age on Election Day: 38
* Occupation: Restaurant Consultant and Bookkeeper
* Employer: Self Employed
* Education: N/A
* Family: N/A
* Neighborhood of residence: Shady Grove
* Church/civic involvement: I am the Vice President of the East Ridge Optimist Club and I volunteer at the East Ridge Food Pantry
Andrea "Aundie" WittAndrea "Aundie" Witt
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Previous public office experience: Appointed to the East Ridge City Council in 2018
* Why should voters choose you? "My background/knowledge with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is beneficial to understanding economic and community growth for our city. Skills I developed as the Manager of the Tennessee Career Center at Chattanooga helps me understand the importance of promoting new business for our city. Since being appointed to the council, I was selected to attend the Local Government Leadership Program through the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership institute for Public Service. I was honored to meet leaders from counties across Tennessee.
2020 brought the US Census. Mayor Williams appointed me to organize the East Ridge Complete Count Committee (CCC). With the help of East Ridge area business leaders, citizens, and school personnel East Ridge/Hamilton County met their Self-Response goals for the census. The Census is vital to the federal funding we receive for schools, hospitals, Fire departments, infrastructure, etc. State population counts determine how the U.S. House of Representatives seats are split across the 50 states.
As an active council member my goal is to "Continue Making a Difference" working with citizens, business leaders, community organizations, and our government to ensure East Ridge experiences economic growth and improved quality of life. Under this council we are experiencing growth and increasing our tax base, thus allowing property taxes to remain unchanged."
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? Revitalization of the West end of East Ridge.
* How will you address this challenge? People are drawn to our city based on the events occurring at Camp Jordan. East Ridge needs to make Exit 1 the new entrance to Chattanooga by improving our business opportunities from the Georgia line to the East Ridge tunnels. Camp Jordan is our ticket to putting East Ridge on the map for family activities. Our partnership with the Chattanooga Red Wolves has allowed us to obtain a new soccer stadium, plus, the opportunity for a new $7 Million residential development planned near the Red Wolves stadium. Camp Jordan has brought new business to Camp Jordan Parkway. Ringgold Road has seen new business growth. One example of this is the new Champy's. The Townplace Inn and Suites by Marriott, Southern Honda Powersports, Pandora's European Motorsports, and the Blackhawk development are scheduled to open in the future. We must continue to utilize the Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act to entice employers to locate in East Ridge. Continuing our Economic and Community Development for the city of East Ridge provides a stronger tax base which may keep our property taxes lower. We have an aging infrastructure and an aging population. Modeling our city center after the Frazier Avenue businesses will revitalize our city and entice younger generations to move to East Ridge. This will lead to improvements in our aging home structures. Property values in North Chattanooga have risen greatly since the revitalization of the North Shore. Our city is moving forward with building a new Splash Pad to replace the aging Pioneer Park structure at City Hall. Our next goal is to work diligently to move forward with obtaining a new animal shelter and dog park.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? Most citizens do not realize I meet every Wednesday prior to the Thursday council meeting with the City Manager/Assistant City Manager to discuss city issues. During these meetings I obtain information to make an informed vote at the council meetings. This is also a time I discuss issues East Ridge citizens bring to my attention to hopefully find a resolution to their problem.
* What past or current public servant do you most admire? Why? Jan Cheek (District Manager) Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Jan became my supervisor in 1989. Due to her mentoring I was able to develop leadership skills which led me into a career of supervision/management with the Employment Security Unemployment Claims Office and the Tennessee Career Centers. As the Manager/Coordinator of the American Job Bank Center at the Eastgate Town Center, I had the opportunity to work with the Chattanooga Volkswagen Group from 2009 until 2014. Our department assisted with the staffing of the plant. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Governor Bredesen and Governor Haslam to ensure we completed our commitment to the Volkswagen project. I retired with 37 years in 2015. Jan Cheek retired in 2008 and passed away 2 months before my retirement. Everyone should have a mentor in their life that made a difference in their career.
* Campaign office email: witt_a@bellsouth.net
* Age on Election Day: 68
* Occupation: Retired
* Education: A.A. Hiwassee Jr. College (Liberal Arts) and B.S. East Tennessee State University (Sociology and History)
* Family: David Witt Husband/Jeremy Micah Witt son/Bonnie Hamon daughter-in-law
* Church/civic involvement: " I volunteered at Spring Creek Elementary during the last 3 years.
I am a Board member of the East Ridge Food Pantry.
I am a member of the East Ridge Optimist Club.
I am a past Board member and volunteer for the East Ridge Needy Child Fund.
I am an alumna of the East Ridge Citizens Police Academy. We are in the process of painting the East Ridge Police Department and working on a "Community Care" project. This project involves contacting disabled or elderly citizens weekly to ensure they are safe. We provided free State of TN masks during the COVID-19 pandemic for area citizens."
* A quote or saying you live by: For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others. Eleanor Roosevelt
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-622-3520