Oak Ridge Today

Voter’s guide: Notes from a candidate forum

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Note: This story was last updated at 10:35 a.m.

Today, August 2, is Election Day in Anderson County. The election includes the Anderson County general election and state and federal primary elections.

It’s the second of three elections this year. The first was the county primary election on May 1, and the last is the municipal election and state and federal elections on November 6.

Here are notes about Anderson County candidates in today’s county general election from a forum at Oak Ridge High School in July. The county general election includes selections for mayor, sheriff, county commission, trustee, circuit court clerk, county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, and school board, among other positions. Some of the candidates have no opposition.

Anderson County Sheriff [Read more…]

Roane County Candidate Forum is Thursday in Oak Ridge

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The Roane County Candidate Forum will be Thursday at Oak Ridge High School.

Candidates who have opponents in campaigns for county executive, trustee, county clerk, register of deeds, and Roane County Commission District 4 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.

Candidates who do not have opposition in campaigns for circuit court clerk, sheriff, county attorney, Roane County School Board District 3/4, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced, the press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County candidate forum is Tuesday

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The Anderson County Candidate Forum will be held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater on Tuesday.

The forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10.

Candidates who have opponents and are running for sheriff, trustee, mayor, Circuit Court clerk, and Anderson County Commission District 6 and 7 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.

Candidates who have no opposition and are running for county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, Anderson County Board of Education District 6 and 7, County Commission District 8, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced. [Read more…]

Updated: Frank, Barker, Lynch win Republican primaries

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Terry-Frank-Pain-Clinic-Zoning-Resolution

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. May 2.

CLINTON—Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank narrowly won the Republican Party primary on Tuesday, beating Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert by 153 votes, according to unofficial results.

Frank, a former small business operator who was first elected in August 2012, had 4,771 votes, compared to 4,618 for Emert. That was a slim margin of 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent.

Frank has served one special two-year term as mayor and one full four-year term. There was no Democratic Party candidate for mayor in the Tuesday primary, meaning Frank won’t have a challenger on the ballot in the August 2 county general election and is essentially assured of serving again.

Emert is a small business owner who has served as Anderson County Commission chair. Like a previous candidate for mayor, former Tennessee Representative Jim Hackworth, Emert had emphasized what he characterized as dysfunction, including lawsuits, in the Anderson County Courthouse under Frank. Among other pledges, he had promised to restore civility to the county government.

But that and other campaign issues weren’t enough to give Emert the win, even if it might have helped to keep the election close. Emert initially had a narrow 63-vote lead after early and absentee voting results were counted. But the lead flipped when Election Day results started coming in from across Anderson County. [Read more…]

Races on the ballot today include mayor, sheriff, others

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Note: This story was last updated at 11:50 a.m.

Among the races on the ballot in the primary election in Anderson County today (Tuesday, May 1) are mayor, sheriff, trustee, county clerk, circuit court clerk, and register of deeds.

At least three of the races—mayor, county clerk, and register of deeds—could be decided in the Republican Party primary today because there are no Democrats running for those offices. That’s assuming there are no write-in candidates for those races in the August 2 county general election.

The Republican candidates for mayor are Terry Frank, the incumbent, and Anderson County Commissioner Steve Emert. The GOP candidates for county clerk are Jeff Cole, the incumbent, and his challenger, businesswoman Leesa Arowood. Tim Shelton is running for re-election as register of deeds, and he is being challenged in the Republican primary by Rocky Top City Manager Michael Foster.

There are no Democrats on today’s ballot for circuit court clerk, but there is a write-in candidate who plans to run as a Democrat in the August election. There is also a Republican write-in candidate in the race. It initially appeared this election could be decided today, but it now appears there could be the Republican nominee, either incumbent William Jones or former mayor Rex Lynch, plus two possible write-in candidates. [Read more…]

Tonight: Republican Party candidates forum in Oak Ridge

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Anderson County Republican Party Primary Candidates Forum April 3 2018

The Anderson County Republican Party has a candidates forum in Oak Ridge tonight (Tuesday, April 3).

The forum will feature candidates for these seven Anderson County offices: mayor, sheriff, circuit court clerk, clerk, trustee, register of deeds, and road superintendent. The candidates are running in the May 1 Anderson County Republican Party primary.

The forum will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the Wildcat Den at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. The doors will open at 6 p.m. for light refreshments, seating, and mingling with Republican primary candidates, a press release said. [Read more…]

Jones running for re-election as AC Circuit Court Clerk

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Willliam T. Jones

Willliam T. Jones

 

Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk William T. Jones is running for re-election this year, a press release said.

Jones kicked off his re-election campaign in late September with a fundraiser in Oak Ridge that was attended by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and District 33 State Representative John Ragan, the press release said.

Jones was elected to the Circuit Court Clerk’s office in 2014 after a 24-year career in law enforcement, the press release said. His duties include supervision of Circuit Court, General Sessions Court Divisions I and II, and Juvenile Court.

“Under his direction, the clerk’s office has run more cost effectively by cutting operating cost,” the press release said. “All surpluses were returned to the county’s general fund. Jones has also been fiscally responsible and able to reduce the annual operating budget.” [Read more…]

Lawsuit filed against AC Circuit Court Clerk, county

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Information from WYSH Radio

A former employee of the Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office has filed an age discrimination lawsuit in Circuit Court against Court Clerk William Jones and the county.

Helen Forrester, 69, was fired on September 10, 2014, and according to the lawsuit filed Monday, after 24 years in the office. Forrester’s lawsuit claims that she was fired so that Jones could replace her with someone younger despite her “good, if not excellent” work and job performance evaluations.

The lawsuit also states that Forrester believed that she had an “expressed and/or implied contract of continuous employment (with the county), and otherwise maintained the right not to have her employment terminated without cause.”

The lawsuit seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages from the county for her “injuries, including a loss of salary, future earnings, and humiliation and embarrassment” caused by the defendant, and $300,000 in treble damages against Jones for “interference with (Forrester’s) employment relationship with Anderson County government” as well as court costs and a jury trial.

Roane County executive, sheriff re-elected

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Ron Woody

Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody was elected to a second four-year term on Thursday, and Sheriff Jack Stockton won a third term.

Woody beat former county mayor Mike Farmer, who previously lost to Woody after one term, by a 60 to 40 percent margin. The unofficial vote tally, with all 24 precincts reporting, was 3,388 votes for Woody to 2,237 for Farmer.

Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton coasted to re-election, beating Rockwood Police Department Patrolman Jared Hall by a 78 to 22 percent margin. The vote tally was 4,504 to 1,284, according to the unofficial election results. [Read more…]

Frank, White re-elected; incumbents fare well, but some upsets

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Steve Mead at Early Voting

Anderson County Commissioner Steve Mead, one of the incumbents re-elected Thursday, campaigns during early voting at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Fred O’Hara Jr.)

 

Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Note: This story was last updated at 2:10 p.m. July 8.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank was elected to her first four-year term on Thursday, and Sheriff Paul White was elected to a third term.

The election featured several close races, including for sheriff and register of deeds, and there were a few upsets, including for Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk, County Commission District 3, and General Sessions Judge, Division II, where longtime Judge Ron Murch suffered defeat.

Paul White

Paul White

In the race for the Tennessee House, Representative John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, beat back a primary challenge by newcomer Caitlin Nolan.

All 27 precincts have reported.

Here are the final unofficial election results for contested races:

Anderson County Mayor

  • Terry Frank, the Republican incumbent—7,586 (52.69 percent)
  • Jim Hackworth, a Democrat—6,193 (43.01 percent)
  • Bradley Rickett, an Independent—619 (4.3 percent)

Frank, who was first elected to a two-year term in a special election in August 2012, beat Hackworth, a former state representative and county commissioner, by about 1,400 votes. The two fought over a 1990 tax hike and “turmoil” and lawsuits in the Anderson County Courthouse.

Anderson County Sheriff

  • Paul White, the Democratic incumbent—7,386 (51.64 percent)
  • Anthony Lay, a Republican—6,918 (48.36 percent)

White’s margin of victory was just under 500 votes. Lay is a former sheriff in Scott County, and he is currently a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper. The two candidates battled over the food served at the Anderson County jail, crime rate statistics, and the responsiveness of the Sheriff’s Department, among other things. [Read more…]

Votes still coming in, but most incumbents in lead; few upsets possible

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Anderson County Early Voting Campaign Signs

The Thursday election featured the Anderson County general election and the state and federal primaries. Pictured above are campaign signs during early voting at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge.

 

Note: Please see this newer story for final results.

The votes are still coming in and the Anderson County Election Commission is repairing its website, but early results suggest most incumbents are faring well, although a few upsets are possible.

Here is a look at some preliminary voting results in Anderson County, as reported by BBB-TV, Channel 12 in Oak Ridge, with 16 of 27 precincts reporting. There could be a few upsets, including on Anderson County Commission and in the races for Anderson County General Session Judge, Division II, and Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk.

Anderson County Mayor

Terry Frank, the Republican incumbent, leads Jim Hackworth, a Democrat, and Bradley Rickett, an Independent.

Anderson County Sheriff

Paul White, the Democratic incumbent, leads Anthony Lay, a Republican.

Tennessee House of Representatives

Republican primary

John Ragan, the Republican incumbent, leads Caitlin Nolan, his GOP challenger. [Read more…]

Anderson County Election Commission website down

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

The Anderson County Election Commission website, which will be posting election results, is currently down. At about 9 p.m. Thursday, the Election Commission said they are working to repair it as quickly as possible.

We are also monitoring election results in Roane County and will post results as soon as they are available.

See the Anderson County Election Commission results here.

See the Roane County results here.

The elections include Anderson County mayor and Roane County executive and sheriffs in both counties, as well as judicial races, circuit court clerks, county commission, and school board.