To the Editor:
There was a recent letter to the editor in The Oak Ridger with mention of how involved a candidate should (or should not be) while running for City Council. I was disappointed that this person would not expect or want a person to be extremely active in our community prior to being elected.
Rick Chinn was specifically mentioned as being too involved to be a good candidate. Does that person realize how backwards that is? We don’t want a heavily involved businessman, community leader, and father to lead our city in the future? My candidate must have all these skills and more to get my vote!
Is Rick a busy man? Yes. Can he knowledgeably represent his organizations and many new groups in our City to help with the much-needed growth and development our city is starving for? Of course he can. Who we have at present is not allowing Oak Ridge to grow with the rest of Tennessee.
Oak Ridge is not a sought-after place to live and shop anymore—that much is obvious by our demographics and sales revenues. We must have change immediately, and I believe Rick can make those changes happen along with other new Council members, such as Eric Tobler.
I do appreciate other opinions but felt I must express that I am proud of the work Rick has done for the community (both in business and civically) and hope he is successful in his bid for City Council.
Beth Palmer
Oak Ridge
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