During a forum earlier this month, a half-dozen Oak Ridge candidates running for Anderson County Commission said they support the county’s law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, while four others said they are reserving judgement.
A few candidates said the county’s property tax rate ought to be lowered, while others argued that officials have done a good job of holding the rate as low as possible.
Several agreed that the county needs to work on attracting more jobs, affordable housing, and retail.
All five of the incumbents seeking re-election in Oak Ridge’s three County Commission districts face challengers in the August 7 election. Voters will elect two commissioners in each district.
The most crowded race is District 7, where incumbent Jerry Creasey is seeking re-election but Commissioner John Shuey is not. There are six candidates in that race. Besides Creasey, they include Jimmy Bouchard, Mike Marsh, Denny Phillips, Kevin Rice, and Theresa Scott.
District 7 includes the Glenwood, Highland View, and Pine Valley voting precincts in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
