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 the City of Soddy-Daisy's Board of Commissioners. Voters are being asked to fill three at-large seats from a pool of five candidates. The candidates' answers are presented in alphabetical order. All candidates were given an opportunity to submit a photo. One did so.
Jim Coleman (no photo available)
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Previous public office experience: City of Soddy-Daisy Fire Chief
* Why should voters choose you? I want to see that our streets are well maintained, to see that the city workers are provided with the necessary tools, education and equipment they need in their daily work duties. I want to see that the city tax dollars are used in a fair and honest way that ensures all of our citizens are treated equally no matter where they live in the city.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? My biggest challenge would be to try to entice small and large businesses to move to our city to help increase our tax base so that tax increases are not passed on to our citizens, Many of our citizens are on limited income or retired as I am a retiree and want to prevent tax increases for all that live in our city. To provide the people of Soddy-Daisy a decent and safe place to raise their children.
* How will you address this challenge? To get our city officials to entice large and small businesses to move to Soddy-Daisy and to have all five Commissioners on board along with our City Manager in accomplishing this goal for our future.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? To ensure all citizens of Soddy-Daisy are treated fair and equal when it comes to the decisions that are made by our City Commission and other city officials that make decisions in their departments. No one person is above any other individual in my opinion and deserve to be treated equally no matter where you live or who you are.
* What past or current public servant do you most admire? Why? Jim Adams. He devoted years as a Soddy-Daisy Commissioner to ensure this city was ran the right way and no one person was singled out. He ensured our tax dollars were used in a manner that benefited everyone even when it made some mad. He was a man of integrity and stood by his values as I do. I learned how this city operated from this man while I was Fire Chief from 1998-2008.
* Campaign office email: cole3444@epbfi.com
* Age on Election Day: 62
* Occupation: Retired Firefighter
* Education: Some college
* Family: I am married to my wife Vickie for over 41 years. We have four adult children and 10 Grandchildren.
* Neighborhood of residence: The old part of Soddy
* Church/civic involvement: Baptist faith member of the Soddy Daisy Volunteer Fire Department since 1974
* A quote or saying you live by: I stand by my faith, beliefs and values that my Mother, Grandpa and uncle taught me while growing up.
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-779-6017
Steve Everett (no photo available)
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Previous public office experience: None
* Why should voters choose you? The city of Soddy-Daisy is near and dear to me. I have lived in Soddy-Daisy all my life. If given the opportunity, I would like to serve the citizens of our city and be their voice within our local government.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? In one word, vision. Incorporating our vision into a 3, 5, and 10-year strategic plan will ensure the city moves forward without increasing taxes on our citizens. This plan should include maintaining current services while improving our infrastructure, supporting our local businesses/non-profits, and supporting all youth programs.
* How will you address this challenge? We must seek input from leaders within our community. This needs to be a diverse group including faith-based leaders, business leaders, non-profit leadership, community leaders, youth group leadership, and educators. We also need to work with all commissioners, the city manager, and our department heads to have an all-inclusive strategic plan. Creating committees for beautification of the city, business development, and youth development will provide another important avenue of input for our strategic plan. These committees will include citizens, which will ensure the community is involved. Involving community members will help with transparency and lend structure to our future.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? Although I want to make sure everything is done to perfection, I do not believe in micro-management. I firmly believe in delegating responsibilities. Allowing administrators and managers to lead the organization ensures efficiency. For this to be successful the administrators and managers must be accountable for their decisions.
* What past or current public servant do you most admire? Why? My father, Doug Everett. He was the chief of police of Soddy-Daisy. He had integrity and was an honest, hard-working man. He had the heart of a servant and instilled this in me. I hope he would be proud of my desire to serve our city as a commissioner.
* Campaign website: www.vote4everett.org
* Age on Election Day: 48
* Occupation: Executive Director
* Employer: Martin Boyd Christian Home Assisted Living
* Education: Masters Degree in Public Administration
* Family: I have been married to my wife Marilyn for 29 years and have two adult daughters, Kelsey (Ben) Battles, and Hayley (Naron) Yates
* Church/civic involvement: North Hamilton Church of Christ
* A quote or saying you live by: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-460-9039
Max Lowe (no response)
Billy Murray (no response)
Gene-o ShipleyGene-o Shipley
* Affiliation: Non-partisan race
* Previous public office experience: 16 years Soddy-Daisy Commission
* Why should voters choose you? I have 16 years experience. I've worked through many issues and am involved in the growth of the City. I worked to meet the challenge to make Soddy-Daisy a safe as well as a growing City with a low tax base.
* What is the biggest challenge facing the office you seek? I think our biggest challenge now is we have experienced flooding with our creeks. Creating damage to homes, yards and businesses, and in one case loss of life.
* How will you address this challenge? We were fortunate to receive a grant and start phase 1 of trying to minimize damage to bridges and other structures. We are now working with TDEC Core of Engineers trying to get a study of the entire watershed. This will be important to find out if homes will have to be bought out and how many for the safety of the community. We will continue to monitor all three of our major creeks to try to prevent any more damage.
* What policy position of yours might surprise people? I think everyone in the community knows where I stand on policies and I will continue to work for the people of Soddy-Daisy.
* Age on Election Day: 65
* Occupation: Plumber
* Employer: self employed/Shipley Plumbing
* Education: 12 yrs & 4 yrs Trade School
* Family: I am married to Rita Smith (Dede).I have 2 children. Amy (Brian) Mills and Trey (Kristen) Shipley. I have 5 grandchildren, Hunter, Jacob, and Brett Mills, Tripp and Savannah Shipley.
* Church/civic involvement: I am a member of Oak Street Baptist Church, Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 43, Soddy Masonic Lodge, Alhambra Shrine, 2017 Soddy-Daisy Hall of Fame Inductee. I serve on the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 942 Wall Committee, and am owner of Shipley Plumbing.
* A quote or saying you live by: As City Commissioner my motto has always been "working for the people."
* Best phone number for voters to contact you: 423-280-0608