Two Oak Ridge candidates qualify to run for Roane County Commission

Two Oak Ridge candidates have qualified to run for two seats in District 4 on the Roane County Commission in the August 2 election.

The two Oak Ridge candidates, Charlotte Bowers and Cory Jenkins, are among five candidates who have qualified to run in the election.

The three other candidates are from Oliver Springs. They are James W. Brummett, an incumbent, and Thaxton H. “T.H.” Brown Jr. and Jerry W. White.

Former Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, had occupied one of the District 4 seats since 2010, and he had been expected to seek re-election in August. But Kelley died in February.

District 4 includes the Oak Hills, Oliver Springs, and Orchard View voting precincts. Oak Hills is in west Oak Ridge.

Kelley’s seat has traditionally been occupied by someone from Oak Ridge, but there is nothing that says it has to be. That had prompted some Oak Ridge residents to scramble in the past few weeks to ensure that someone from Oak Ridge would be on the District 4 ballot. The qualifying deadline was this past Thursday, April 5.

The Roane County Commission has 15 commissioners from seven districts.

In other elections on August 2, Roane County Executive Ron Woody, the incumbent, is being challenged by former Roane County Property Assessor David Morgan. Both men have Kingston mailing addresses.

Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton of Kingston is running unopposed. Roane County Circuit Court Clerk Ann Goldston is also running unopposed. So is County Attorney Greg Leffew.

The two candidates for trustee are Nick Forrester of Kingston and Chris Mason of Harriman. The two candidates for county clerk are Chase Clem of Rockwood and Beth Gage Johnson of Kingston.

And the candidates for register of deeds are Sharon Brackett of Kingston, the incumbent, and Mike Elmore, also of Kingston.

The candidate list shows that Tennessee Representative Kent Calfee, a Kingston Republican in District 32, which includes part of Roane County and west Oak Ridge, could have a Democratic challenger in the November 6 election, Mary Ellen Blencoe of Harriman.

The August 2 general election in Roane County also includes candidates for the Tennessee House in District 31, other County Commission districts, School Board seats, Democratic and Republican state executive committee members, Harriman City Council members, and an unopposed election for Oliver Springs court clerk/finance officer (Ramona Walker).