• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




One challenger for City Council, none for school board

Posted at 7:52 pm August 17, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The deadline for candidates to qualify for the November 6 municipal elections was noon Thursday, and four Oak Ridge City Council incumbents have one challenger while there are three candidates for three school board seats.

Besides the four seats now held by incumbents, the November election will include the selection of an additional member of Oak Ridge City Council to fill the rest of the term of Hans Vogel, who was elected to a four-year term in November 2016 but resigned in June to take a new job at Idaho National Laboratory. Only one candidate, Derrick Hammond, has qualified as a candidate in that special election. Hammond was unanimously appointed to the seat by City Council in July to fill the seat through the November election. After his unopposed November election, Hammond will serve the last two years of Vogel’s unexpired term.

Also on the ballot in November are city council and school board seats in Clinton, Norris, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top. That’s in addition to the state and federal elections for Tennessee governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House of Representatives.

The four incumbents on the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council who are up for election in November all qualified as candidates by Thursday’s deadline. They are Kelly Callison, R.G. “Rick” Chinn Jr., Warren Gooch, and Ellen D. Smith. The four incumbents last had an election in November 2014.

Gooch is currently the mayor, and Chinn is currently mayor pro tem, meaning he fills in when the mayor is absent or temporarily unavailable. Council will appoint or re-appoint a mayor and mayor pro tem after the November 6 election. The seven City Council members appoint one of their members to serve a two-year term as mayor after each municipal election every two years.

Advertisement

The one challenger in November is Timothy L. Stallings. He was among the seven candidates who sought to fill Vogel’s seat last month.

That’s a total of five candidates for four City Council seats, plus the special election.

Two other residents, Wende Doolittle and Susan L. “Sue” Frederick, had picked up candidate petitions but had not filed by Thursday’s deadline. Doolittle unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2016. Like Stallings, Frederick was among the seven candidates who sought to fill Vogel’s seat last month.

The three candidates for the three seats on the five-member Oak Ridge Board of Education are incumbent Laura McLean, first elected in November 2014; newcomer Erin S. Webb; and Benjamin J. Stephens, who was appointed and then elected to a seat this year. Stephens was appointed in March to fill a seat vacated by former BOE Vice Chair Bob Eby, who resigned after he was selected to serve on the state school board. Stephens ran unopposed in a special election on August 2 to finish the rest of that unexpired term, and he is now seeking a regular four-year term in the November election.

Eby is one of two school board members whose seats are up for election in November but who have resigned. The other is Paige Marshall. She resigned Thursday so she and her family can move to North Carolina for a new job.

On Friday, Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer said the school board will likely appoint Webb, director of children’s ministries at First United Methodist Church, to fill Marshall’s seat until the November election. The board could make that appointment next week.

Advertisement

This municipal election is less competitive than at least the two previous elections (2014 and 2016).

City Council and Board of Education elections are both staggered. For Council, that means four members are elected in one even-numbered year, and three are elected in the next even-numbered year. For the school board, that means three members are elected one even-numbered year, and two are elected in the next even-numbered year.

Most cities in Anderson County also have staggered elections, meaning council members aren’t all elected at the same time. But Norris does elect all members of its City Council at the same time.

To qualify and be placed on the November 6 ballot, a candidate had to collect 25 signatures from voters registered in the city where they are seeking election.

Here are candidates who qualified for the November election by the Thursday deadline for other municipal elections in Anderson County.

Clinton Board of Education

Ward 2

  • Timothy A. Bible
  • Curtis W. Isabell

Ward 3

  • Kimberly “K.K.” Webster

Clinton City Council

Ward 1

  • E.T. Stamey Jr.
  • Ronald Young

Ward 2

  • Brian D. Hatmaker

Ward 3

  • Zach Farrar

Mayor, City of Clinton

  • Scott Burton
  • Stephen McNally

Mayor, City of Oliver Springs

  • Omer Cox

Mayor, City of Rocky Top

  • Donald Douglas
  • Juden Poore
  • Timothy “Tim” Sharp

Note: A fourth candidate, Richard Lee Dunigan, picked up a petition to run for Rocky Top mayor but did not file by Thursday’s deadline.

Norris City Council

  • Larry Beeman
  • Bill Grieve
  • Chris Mitchell
  • Jessica Peacock Ogburn
  • Loretta Ann Painter

Note: A sixth candidate, Jack Black, picked up a petition to run for Norris City Council but did not file by Thursday’s deadline.

Oliver Springs Alderman, Ward 1

  • Robert L. Miller Sr.

Oliver Springs Alderman, Ward 2

  • Jeffery Bass
  • Paul Parson

Oliver Springs Alderman, Ward 4

  • Rusty Phillips

Rocky Top City Council

  • Brian Brown
  • Denise Casteel
  • Michael Lovely

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 33

Collin P. Riggs, an Independent Party candidate, picked up a petition to run for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 33, but did not file by Thursday’s deadline. That means the two candidates remain the Republican incumbent, John Ragan, and Democratic challenger, Richard Dawson. District 33 includes most of Anderson County, including Oak Ridge.

Oliver Springs Wine in Grocery Stores

A petition was picked up for Oliver Springs wine in grocery stores in March, but was not filed by Thursday’s deadline.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2018 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: 2018 Election, Clinton, Education, Front Page News, Government, K-12, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Rocky Top Tagged With: Benjamin J. Stephens, Bob Eby, City Council, Clinton, Clinton Board of Education, Clinton City Council, Derrick Hammond, Ellen D. Smith, Erin S. Webb, Hans Vogel, Kelly Callison, Keys Fillauer, Laura McLean, municipal election, Norris, Norris City Council, November 6 municipal election, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oliver Springs, R.G. Rick Chinn Jr., Rocky Top, Rocky Top City Council, school board, Susan L. "Sue" Frederick, Tennessee House of Representatives, Timothy L. Stallings, Warren Gooch, Wende Doolittle, wine in grocery stores

Advertisements

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Education News

Roane State to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Oak Ridge for students & employees

Roane State Community College, in partnership with the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, is planning a two-part vaccination clinic at its Oak Ridge Branch Campus for Roane State students and … [Read More...]

ORHS Cheerleading Breakfast Fundraiser is May 1

The Oak Ridge High School Cheerleaders, coaches, and boosters invite the community to their Burrito Breakfast. This year's breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at Gallo Loco. Tickets are $5 each and … [Read More...]

Roane State One Stop resumes in-person student services

Part of the Oak Ridge branch campus of Roane State Community College is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State) Roane State Community College’s One Stop offices at the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses have now … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Police Department Badge

Boy hit by vehicle near JMS

A 10-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle near Jefferson Middle School on Thursday, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. The collision was reported at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday, April 1, on Fairbanks Road north of Dayton … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Schools Logo

ORHS educator named Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction

Heidi Foster, an educator at Oak Ridge High School, was recently selected as a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction by The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS). "A role model to pupils, Heidi was nominated … [Read More...]

More Education

More Government News

ORAU will support COVID-19 communications for CDC Office of Minority Health & Health Equity

ORAU was recently awarded a contract by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) to provide technical communications support to the office and three COVID-19 … [Read More...]

Governor authorizes $10,000 reward in Thomas Thrasher death investigation

The Oak Ridge Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the death of a 29-year-old man found dead in a second-floor apartment at this Rolling Hills Apartments building in Oak Ridge on Monday, … [Read More...]

Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-6-Feb-11-2020

Motorsports park will not be built in Oak Ridge

Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park was proposed on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak … [Read More...]

Political redistricting to be discussed at Lunch with League

Debby Gould Political redistricting will be discussed at Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, April 20. The virtual meeting is scheduled to start at noon April 20. It is hosted by the League of Women … [Read More...]

Death penalty to be discussed at Lunch with League

Marshall Jensen The death penalty in America will be discussed during a Lunch with the League meeting at noon today (Tuesday, April 6). The virtual meeting is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. It … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • Roane State to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Oak Ridge for students & employees
  • ORAU will support COVID-19 communications for CDC Office of Minority Health & Health Equity
  • ORHS Cheerleading Breakfast Fundraiser is May 1
  • Roane State One Stop resumes in-person student services
  • Virtual talks on Weinberg and his archived papers on Apr. 20
  • One person flown to hospital, in critical condition after rollover crash
  • ASAP has Virtual Information and Resource Fair
  • Man wanted in Ohio hides in Oak Ridge church, but K-9 finds him
  • Governor authorizes $10,000 reward in Thomas Thrasher death investigation
  • Man pursued by police runs into church, taken into custody

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today