Oak Ridge Today

Online voter information site available for November elections

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VOTE411.org, an online voter information guide for November 2016 elections, is now available to all citizens of Oak Ridge. Sponsored locally by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, VOTE411 began in 2006 at the national League level. Nearly 300 local leagues are now participating, a press release said.

The site allows users to compare candidates for office in their district, select their choices, and create a ballot summary that they can print out, take with them to the polling place, or share.

After accessing www.VOTE411.org, a user is prompted to enter his or her address, which is used to identify one’s voting district from federal and state geographic information system (GIS) data. The races provided should be identical to those on the ballot for that voting district. The address information and candidate selections provided by users will not be collected or retained. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools PTA-PTO’s candidate meet-and-greet

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Oak Ridge Schools PTA-PTOs will have a candidate meet-and-greet on Thursday, October 20. It’s scheduled from 7-8 p.m. in the Oak Ridge High School Cafeteria. It will feature candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education and Oak Ridge City Council.

“Please come join us at the Oak Ridge Schools PTA- PTO’s Candidate Meet and Greet,” a press release said. “You will have the opportunity to speak with the Board of Education and City Council candidates about their visions for our school district and our city. We look forward to seeing you there!”

This press release was submitted by Holly Cross.

Reminder: Forum tonight features candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission

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A forum tonight will feature the Oak Ridge candidates for Anderson County Charter Commission.

The forum will start at 7 p.m., Thursday, October 6, in the City Room (A-111) at Roane State Community College at 701 Briarcliff Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Here are the Oak Ridge candidates: [Read more…]

Reminder: League forum tonight features candidates for City Council, Board of Education

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Reminder: A forum tonight will feature candidates for the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the Oak Ridge City Council. It is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater.

It’s the first of three candidate forums in October organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

The second forum will be on Thursday, October 6, at Roane State Community College City Room on the Oak Ridge campus. This will include the Oak Ridge candidates for the Anderson County Charter Commission. To begin the forum, there will be a short presentation from a subject matter expert on the process of reviewing and changing a county charter. This forum will be from 7 to 9 p.m. [Read more…]

Stanley, a doctor running for Charter Commission, supports term limits

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David Stanley

David Stanley

David Stanley, a doctor running for Anderson County Charter Commission, supports term limits for the county mayor and the County Commission, as well as more active citizen participation, a press release said.

Stanley is running for the District 7 seat on the eight-member Charter Commission in the November 8 election. District 7 includes the Highland View, Glenwood, and Pine Valley voting precincts.

Stanley was born and raised in Maryville, the press release said. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and graduating from medical school in Memphis, Stanley spent time as a medical missionary in Laos, where he founded a modest hospital on the border of Cambodia and Laos, bringing modern medicine to the area for the first time, the press release said.

Once he returned to the United States, he moved his young family to Oak Ridge, where he built his medical practice from the ground up, the release said. [Read more…]

Ward, an attorney running for Charter Commission, supports term limits

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Hugh Ward Jr.

Hugh Ward Jr.

Hugh B. Ward Jr., an attorney running for Anderson County Charter Commission, supports term limits for county mayor and county commissioners, a press release said.

Ward is running for the District 6 seat on the eight-member Charter Commission, which will be elected November 8. District 6 includes the Oak Ridge City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills precincts.

“Charter government has worked well for the City of Oak Ridge since November 7, 1962; the City of Clinton since 1954; Knoxville; Knox County; and other East Tennessee cities,” the press release said. “I think it’s time we modernize and allow Oak Ridge citizens to have the same level of citizen input in county government as our own fine city government. I favor a charter government, including term limits for county commissioners and the office of county mayor. For stability, I believe we need to establish staggered terms of office for commissioners as occurs in our city and surrounding municipalities.”

If elected, Ward said, his priorities will include transparency and open government, citizen participation on county committees, and ensuring charter proposals are consistent with the state constitution and general laws. [Read more…]

Tuesday forum to feature candidates for City Council, Board of Education

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A forum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday will feature candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Board of Education, and city judge.

The forum will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s been organized by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.

Candidates for Oak Ridge City Council [Read more…]

Reminder: School board candidate forum is Thursday morning

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Reminder: The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a forum for candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education on Thursday morning.

It’s the second of three candidate forums for the November 8 election.

The Board of Education candidate forum will start at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, September 29, in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Joyce Conference Room. It’s free and open to the public.

There are three candidates for two seats on the school board: the incumbents, Angi Agle and Keys Fillauer, and challenger Myra Mansfield. [Read more…]

Elks Lodge in Oak Ridge to host school board debate Oct. 3

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The Elks Lodge in Oak Ridge will host a school board debate at 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 3.

The forum will be moderated by Mike Marsh, and the audience can submit written questions.

The Elks Lodge is at 684 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Smallridge, a former school superintendent, running for Charter Commission

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Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge

Bob Smallridge is running for Anderson County Charter Commission in District 8, which includes the Emory Valley, Hendrix Creek, and Woodland voting precincts.

The eight-member Charter Commission will be elected in November with the purpose of considering and voting on possible changes to Anderson County government, a press release said.

Once elected and certified, the Commission will have nine months to come up with a recommended document for voter approval or rejection through a countywide referendum.

As pointed out in a recent newspaper editorial, a home rule charter provides, “numerous options for improving county government, but also ample opportunity to make government worse,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Fillauer, the school board chair, seeks re-election to BOE

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Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer

Keys Fillauer is seeking to be re-elected to the Oak Ridge Board of Education.

Fillauer has served on the school board for 15 years and has served as chair for the last four years. He also serves as East director for the Tennessee School Board Association Board of Directors.

Fillauer is a retired Oak Ridge teacher and coach. He taught and coached at Robertsville Junior High for 27 years and at Oak Ridge High School for four years, a press release said. Fillauer has been recognized as a member of the All Tennessee School Board, Tennessee Teacher of the Year, and Freedom Foundation Award winner, and he received the Governor’s Outstanding Tennessean Award.

Fillauer has also received the Service Above Self award from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, the press release said. He is a member of the Oak Ridge Sports Hall of Fame and the Anderson County Hall of Fame.

Fillauer serves as president of a property management business in Cleveland, Tennessee. He is involved in many fundraising efforts, especially for the Ronald McDonald House, the press release said. [Read more…]

The Young and the Registered: LWVOR kicks off voter registration project for eligible youth

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One bright spot leading into the 2016 presidential race is that data shows that a record number of young people are paying attention, and they’re excited to vote this year. To celebrate “National Voter Registration Day” on September 27, the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will focus on registering and educating young people about the importance of being a voter.

During their lunch periods eligible students at Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson County High Schools can register to vote at tables set up by LWVOR volunteers that will be located in or near the cafeterias.

Students and the public are also invited to register to vote at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the first floor of the Goff building located next to the main building. [Read more…]