Gooch re-appointed mayor, Chinn replaces Smith as mayor pro tem

Warren Gooch (File photo by Savanna Schubert)

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch has been elected by City Council to a second two-year term as mayor, and City Council member Rick Chinn was appointed mayor pro tem, replacing Ellen Smith.

No other City Council member sought to be appointed mayor, and Gooch, who was first appointed after he was elected in 2014, was unanimously elected by the new City Council.

Smith and Chinn both sought to be appointed mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem serves as mayor when the mayor is temporarily unavailable.

Smith served one two-year term as mayor pro tem. She was first appointed to the position after being re-elected to City Council in November 2014.

This will be Chinn’s first term as mayor pro tem.

Here’s how City Council members voted for mayor pro tem:

• Gooch voted for Chinn;
• new City Council member Jim Dodson, who was elected in November, voted for Chinn;
• Smith voted for Smith;
• Chuck Hope, who was re-elected to City Council in November, voted for Chinn;
• new City Council member Hans Vogel, who was also elected in November, voted for Smith;
• Chinn voted for Chinn; and
• City Council member Kelly Callison voted for Chinn.

The Oak Ridge City Council appoints two of its members as mayor and mayor pro tem after each municipal election every two years. Among other things, the mayor leads City Council meetings and serves as the ceremonial head of the city. Oak Ridge has a full-time city manager appointed by City Council who operates the city on a daily basis.

The new and re-elected City Council members—Dodson, Hope, and Vogel—were sworn in Monday. So were Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer, who were re-elected to the Oak Ridge Board of Education in the November 8 municipal election.

See previous story on the the mayor’s position here.

See previous story on the mayor pro team’s position here.

See a recent letter from Smith here, announcing her interest in seeking a second term as mayor pro tem.

See a recent letter from Chinn here, announcing his interest in being appointed mayor pro tem.

More information will be added as it becomes available.