Brian Bush seeks to be the next Chattanooga City Court judge

Former Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Brian Bush has announced he will run for City Court judge, with goals to provide a more efficient court system that will save taxpayers money.

"I'm running because I care about you - my neighbors - and improving City Court, making it more valuable to our community," Bush said via news release. "I ask for your support over the next few months and for your vote on May 3, 2022."

If elected, Bush would be the second Black man to serve as a City Court judge after Judge Walter Williams, who was elected in 1991.

He would also oversee the entire city, after the City Council voted this summer to do away with the court's second district following the August announcement by City Court District II Judge Russell Bean of his intention to retire at the end of his term in 2022.

(READ MORE: Judge Russell Bean to retire; Patterson, Statom seeking judgeships)

A graduate of Maryville College, where he met his wife Mauriel, Bush went on to obtain his law degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The Chattanooga native said he has made it part of his mission to be involved in the local community, serving as an executive council member of the Chattanooga Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, as well as serving as the access to justice co-coordinator for the Tennessee Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division.

"Being from Chattanooga, and having served as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, Brian has extensive experience in exploring alternative sentencing options and other measures of increasing community wellness," the Bush campaign said in a news release.

Bush began his career as a legal liaison for the House of Refuge, where he advocated for alternative sentencing for those members of the community that were experiencing homelessness and substance addiction.

Contact La Shawn Pagan at lpagan@timesfreepress.com.