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2014 Election: Interest in mayor position, mall redevelopment, better ties with BOE

Posted at 1:06 am November 3, 2014
By John Huotari 7 Comments

Oak Ridge City Council Candidate Forum

Nine of the 10 Oak Ridge City Council candidates are pictured above. From right, they are Kelly Callison, Rick Chinn, incumbent Anne Garcia Garland, Warren Gooch, Gary Love, incumbent David Mosby, Pedro Otaduy, former Council member Ellen Smith, and Eric Tobler. Not pictured is Aditya “Doc” Savara.

 

A majority of the Oak Ridge City Council candidates said they would consider running for mayor or vice mayor if elected on Tuesday, and almost all supported the incentives recommended for the proposed redevelopers of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The candidates were mixed on whether to bring back red-light cameras, and most seemed to think the city’s property tax rate is about right, in light of current budget needs.

Asked to grade the current Council as leaders, the candidates handed out grades ranging from “A” to “F.”

In a series of recent forums, the candidates generally advocated for better communication between the City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education and, for the most part, seemed to be in favor of taking over Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge, although their approvals would hinge on factors such as cost and property restrictions.

There are 10 candidates running for four seats on the seven-member Council in Tuesday’s election. Two of the incumbents—Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby—are seeking re-election—and two others—Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller—are not.

Many consider it a critical election, with a business boom under way and major projects on the horizon, including the proposed redevelopment of the mall and the planned $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex.

The new Council is expected to elect a new mayor and mayor pro tem (like a vice mayor) during its next meeting after Tuesday’s election.

Here is a look at some of what the candidates said during the recent forums. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, Anne Garcia Garland, BOE, candidates, City Council, Clark Center Park, commercial development, David Mosby, DOE, Ellen Smith, Eric Tobler, festivals, Gary Love, Grove Center, growth, housing, Jackson Square, Jane Miller, Kelly Callison, mayor, mayor pro tem, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oak Ridge Mall, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department, Oak Ridge Schools, Pedro Otaduy, property tax rate, recreational events, red light cameras, residents, retail, Rick Chinn, sales tax revenue, schools, tax increment financing, tax revenues, TIF, Tom Beehan, U.S. Department of Energy, UPF, uranium processing facility, vice mayor, vision, Warren Gooch, Y-12 National Security Complex

Traffic Safety, Environmental Advisory board member running for City Council

Posted at 9:42 pm October 24, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara, a member of two city boards, is running for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election.

In a press release, Savara said he has been involved in local politics during the past two years and served on the Traffic Safety Advisory Board and the Environmental Quality Advisory Board. Savara said he has attended and commented during public comment periods at City Council meetings, is knowledgeable about the issues facing the city, and has been vocal about them.

“In 2012-2013, an ordinance came before Oak Ridge City Council regarding whether property owners Jack and Myra Mansfield could build a single home on their property in a neighborhood zoned as R1, for single-family dwellings,” Savara said in the release. “Adjacent homeowners asserted property values would drop if the Mansfields were allowed to build a home on the open space. I pointed out that the neighbors could have bought the open property themselves if they wanted to keep it as open space. I stated that the neighbors didn’t want to buy the cow, but wanted to have the milk for free, and that it was not too late for the neighbors to make the Mansfields a fair offer. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, apartments, Board of Education, Centennial Golf Course, City Council, Doc Savara, economy, Environmental Quality Advisory Board, golf course, incentives, Jack Mansfield, lease, manufacturing, Myra Mansfield, Northwestern University, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, open space, recycling, retail, shopping centers, strip malls, taxes, teaching, Traffic Safety Advisory Board

Guest column: ‘One-shot’ voting unwise in Oak Ridge

Posted at 9:37 am October 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 4 Comments

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

By Aditya “Doc” Savara

“One-shot” voting is unwise in Oak Ridge.

This year, there are four seats for City Council and three seats for the Board of Education up for election in Oak Ridge.

A column that appeared online at Oak Ridge Today and in the print version of The Oak Ridger advocated “one-shot” voting—where a person only votes for a single candidate instead of using all four of their votes for City Council (or three for Board of Education). I disagree with that view and tell my supporters to vote for whomever they want on City Council.

There are 10 candidates for City Council. Let’s call them A,B,C,D…Suppose you like only two out of the 10 candidates, A and B, but like candidate A the most. With four seats available, the only time you would want to “one-shot A” is if you are afraid A and B are “neck and neck” for the last position with B beating A—for example, if the results turned out D,C,E,B,A,F,…where the first four win the election.

For any other situation, you would want to vote for both A and B. For example with D,B,A,C,E,F…you would want to vote for both A and B to make sure they both beat C. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, Board of Education, candidates, City Council, combinations, election, Oak Ridge, one-shot voting, permutations, vote, voting

Savara has meet and greet this evening

Posted at 9:08 am October 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara, a candidate for Oak Ridge City Council, has a meet-and-greet this evening.

“With so many people entering the race for Oak Ridge City Council, it’s helpful to have a chance to get your questions and issues heard,” Savara said.

The meet-and-greet is on East Drive between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. today (Sunday, October 19).

To RSVP and receive further details, send an email to [email protected].

Filed Under: 2014 Election, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, meet and greet, Oak Ridge City Council

Nineteen candidates for Oak Ridge City Council, School Board

Posted at 12:33 pm August 21, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Vote Logo

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Ten candidates have qualified to run for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 4 municipal election, and there are nine candidates for Oak Ridge Board of Education—a total of 19 candidates.

It’s the largest field of candidates in recent memory, and it’s not immediately clear when, or if, there has been a field as large.

The deadline to qualify as a candidate in this fall’s municipal elections in Anderson County was noon Thursday.

There is a mix of incumbents and newcomers in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Rocky Top (Lake City), Norris, and Oliver Springs.

Oak Ridge

In Oak Ridge, two incumbents, including Mayor Tom Beehan and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller, are not seeking re-election. Meanwhile, the other two incumbents whose terms expire this November, Anne Garcia Garland and David Mosby, are running for another four-year term.

In addition to Garcia Garland and Mosby, the other Oak Ridge City Council candidates are:

  • Kelly Callison,
  • R.G. “Rick” Chinn,
  • Warren L. Gooch,
  • Gary L. Love,
  • Pedro J. Otaduy,
  • Aditya “Doc” Savara,
  • Ellen D. Smith, and
  • Eric Tobler.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, 2014 Election, Anderson County, Clinton, Government, Lake City, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Aaron Wells, Aditya "Doc" Savara, Anderson County, Andrew Howard, Andrew Howe, Andy Marathe, Anne Garcia Garland, Becky Lindsay, Bill Grieve, Bob Eby, borrowing, Brian Brown, Brian Hatmaker, candidates, Cassandra Mitchell, Chris Hepler, Chris Keever, Chris Mitchell, Chuck Fleischmann, Clinton, Clinton Board of Education, Clinton City Council, Clinton mayor, Curtis Isabell, Dan DiGregorio, David Mosby, Denise Casteel, Donald R. Douglas, E.T. Stamey, Ellen Smith, Eric Tobler, Gary Mullins, Jack Black, Jane Miller, Jean Hiser, Jeffery Bass, Jenny Richter, Jo-Ann Fehr, Kelly Callison, Kimberly K. "K.K." Webster, Lake City, Laura Bowles, Laurie Paine, Loretta Painter, M.T. "Terry" Craze, Marian Wildgruber, Mary Headrick, Maurice Walker, Melanie Heiberg, Michael Lovely, Mike Mahathy, municipal elections, Natalie Erb, Nathan Benson, Norris, Norris City Council, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oliver Springs, Paige Marshall, Pamela Brown, Pedro J. Otaduy, Peter Sexton, Rick Chinn, Robert Miller, Rocky Top, Rocky Top City Council, Rocky Top mayor, Ronald Young, Scott Burton, Ted Phillips, Timothy Bible, Timothy Sharp, Tom Beehan, U.S. House of Representatives, Warren Gooch, York Haverkamp, Zach Farrar

Thursday deadline to qualify for municipal elections across Anderson County

Posted at 1:59 pm August 15, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Vote Logo

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: [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2014 Election, 2014 Election, Clinton, Education, Government, K-12, Lake City, Norris, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, Anderson County, Andrew Howard, Andrew Howe, Anne Garcia Garland, Becky Lindsay, Bill Grieve, Bob Eby, borrowing, Brian Brown, Brian Hatmaker, Cassandra Mitchell, Chris Mitchell, Chuck Fleischmann, Clinton, Clinton Board of Education, Clinton City Council, Clinton mayor, Curtis Isabell, Dan DiGregorio, David Mosby, Denise Casteel, Donald R. Douglas, E.T. Stamey, Ellen Smith, Eric Tobler, Gary Mullins, Jack Black, Jane Miller, Jeffery Bass, Jenny Richter, Jo-Ann Fehr, Kelly Callison, Lake City, Laura Bowles, Laurie Paine, Loretta Painter, Marian Wildgruber, Mary Headrick, Maurice Walker, Melanie Heiberg, Michael Lovely, Mike Mahathy, municipal elections, Natalie Erb, Nathan Benson, Norris, Norris City Council, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oliver Springs, Paige Marshall, Pamela Brown, Peter Sexton, Rick Chinn, Robert Miller, Rocky Top, Rocky Top City Council, Rocky Top mayor, Ronald Young, Satchidanand Marathe, Scott Burton, Ted Phillips, Timothy Bible, Timothy Sharp, Tom Beehan, U.S. House of Representatives, Warren Gooch, York Haverkamp, Zach Farrar

Guest column: Yes to one device per child, no to property tax increase

Posted at 2:38 pm June 15, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 6 Comments

Aditya "Doc" Savara

Aditya “Doc” Savara

By Aditya “Doc” Savara

On June 2, Dr. Bruce Borchers, the superintendent overseeing Oak Ridge Schools, presented a 2015 school budget plan to City Council, which included a request for a property tax increase of about 15 percent. Landlords would presumably pass this increase onto renters as well.

The justification for this tax increase is to pay for thousands of touchscreen tablet computers and notebook computers: one for each child in our school system for most age ranges. The idea is bold and expensive. The revolutionary change is based on the following three premises:

  1. Our children need to be “technology-ready” for the future with sufficient experience to make such technology feel “ordinary” to them.
  2. These devices may have educational benefits in our schools.
  3. When parents are trying to decide where they will live, parents might choose a city that follows a one-device-per-child policy.

I taught at Northwestern University, where I won department-wide and college-wide teaching awards. Based on my teaching experience, I was initially against one device per child, because I did not think such devices would improve learning, certainly not enough to justify such an expense (my experience is that better teachers and better students result in better learning). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Government, Guest Columns, K-12, Oak Ridge, Opinion Tagged With: Aditya "Doc" Savara, Bruce Borchers, computer devices, curriculum, notebook computers, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, one device per child, property tax increase, school budget, tax increase, technology ready, touchscreen tablet computers, videos

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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