Thursday is the deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County, and so far, there appears to be a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.
Eleven people, including the four incumbents, have expressed an interest in running for four seats on Oak Ridge City Council in November, and seven candidates have qualified so far.
Meanwhile, three people, including one incumbent, have qualified to run for three seats on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. A total of nine potential candidates, including the three who have qualified, have picked up petitions to run for Oak Ridge school board.
The November 4 election is the last in a series of three elections this year. The deadline to qualify is noon Thursday, August 21. A candidate needs 25 verified signatures on a nomination petition to qualify.
Those who have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council are:
- Kelly Callison,
- R.G. “Rick” Chinn Jr.,
- Warren L. Gooch,
- Gary L. Love,
- David N. Mosby,
- Aditya “Doc” Savara, and
- Ellen D. Smith.
Those who have picked up nominating petitions to run for City Council but haven’t yet qualified are:
- Tom Beehan,
- Anne Garcia Garland,
- D. Jane Miller, and
- Eric Tobler.
The incumbents are Beehan, who is also mayor; Miller, who is mayor pro tem; and Garcia Garland and Mosby. Smith is a former Council member.
City Council seats are at-large, meaning the four candidates who collect the most votes in the citywide elections in November will be elected. The City Council elections are staggered, meaning that four of the seven seats are up for election this year and the other three will be up for election in 2016. Council appoints the mayor and mayor pro tem.
Those who have qualified to run for the Oak Ridge Board of Education are:
- Bob Eby,
- Mike Mahathy, and
- Laura McLean.
Those who have picked up nominating petitions to run for school board but haven’t yet qualified are:
- Melanie Heiberg,
- Andrew L. Howe,
- Satchidanand C. Marathe,
- A. Paige Marshall,
- Laurie L. Paine, and
- Marian H. Wildgruber.
Eby is an incumbent and also school board vice chair. School board members Dan DiGregorio and Jenny Richter are not seeking re-election.
Oak Ridge Board of Education seats are also at-large and staggered. Three seats are up for election this year, and two will be on the ballot in 2016.
Clinton Mayor Scott Burton, the incumbent, is the only candidate to have qualified so far for that seat. No one else has picked up a petition to run for Clinton mayor.
Candidates who have qualified for Clinton City Council, which also has staggered terms, are:
Ward 1
- Ted Phillips, and
- E.T. Stamey
Stamey is the incumbent.
Ward 2
- Brian D. Hatmaker
Ward 3
- Zach Farrar
Ronald Young has picked up a nominating petition to run for Clinton City Council, Ward 1, but has not yet qualified.
Two candidates, Timothy A. Bible and Curtis W. Isabell, have qualified to run for Clinton Board of Education, Ward 2. Meanwhile, Kimberly K. “K.K.” Webster has picked up a nominating petition but not yet qualified in Clinton Board of Education, Ward 3.
One candidate, Donald R. Douglas, has qualified to run for Rocky Top mayor, and two others, Andrew J. Howard and Michael J. Lovely, have picked up nominating petitions. Douglas and Howard are now City Council members, and Lovely is vice mayor.
Timothy L. Sharp is the current mayor.
Candidates who have qualified to run for Rocky Top City Council are:
- Brian Brown,
- Becky Lindsay, and
- Gary Mullins.
Others who have picked up petitions are Pamela Brown, Denise Casteel, and Sharp.
Two candidates have qualified to run for Norris City Council: Bill Grieve and Loretta A. Painter.
Others who have picked up petitions are:
- Jack Black,
- Natalie Erb,
- Jo-Ann S. Fehr,
- York Haverkamp,
- Chris Mitchell, and
- Peter Sexton.
In Oliver Springs, Robert L. Miller Sr. has picked up a nominating petition to run for Alderman, Ward 1, and Maurice Walker has qualified to run for Alderman, Ward 2, while Jeffery Bass has picked up a petition in Ward 2 and Nathan Benson has picked up one in Ward 4.
Cassandra J. Mitchell has qualified to run as an Independent in Anderson County for the U.S. House  of Representatives, Third District, where she will challenge the incumbent, Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican, and Democratic candidate Mary Headrick.
There will also be questions on the ball about allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores in Clinton, Norris, and Oak Ridge.
The elections earlier this year were the Anderson County Republican and Democratic primaries on May 6 and Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections on August 7. The November 4 election features the municipal elections, as well as the state and federal general elections.
See the Anderson County Election Commission website for more information.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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