Oak Ridge Today

Veteran challenging Fleischmann in Republican primary

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Bill Spurlock

Bill Spurlock

 

William E. “Bill” Spurlock, a Chattanooga native and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is challenging U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann in the Republican primary in Tennessee’s Third District on August 2. The Third District includes Oak Ridge and its U.S. Department of Energy facilities.

Spurlock, 60, officially announced his candidacy in Chattanooga on Tuesday, April 3.

He has served in the Army, Marine Corps, and the National Guard, completing five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the press release said. He is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with a total of more than 50 ribbons and medals earned before recently retiring, as a major, after 34 years of service.

A press release said Spurlock was raised on Lookout Mountain by a single mother, and he attended The Baylor School. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. After three years on active duty in the Marines, he came home to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, earning a bachelor’s degree in business management. [Read more…]

Chattanooga doctor running for U.S. House, in Oak Ridge on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Danielle Mitchell

Danielle Mitchell

 

Danielle Mitchell, a Chattanooga doctor and independent business owner of a community health care clinic, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2018 election, a press release said.

Mitchell is a Democrat who hopes to unseat Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, in next year’s election in Tennessee’s Third District, the press release said. The Third District includes Oak Ridge.

Mitchell is running on a platform that prioritizes “people policy” over partisan politics, as well as a focus on viable solutions that benefit all Tennesseans, the press release said.

She will be in Oak Ridge for a special breakfast and town hall discussion on Saturday morning, October 28, according to the press release. That breakfast, called “Pancakes with a Purpose,” is scheduled from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, October 28, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, which is located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. There is a suggested donation of $20 and all are welcome, the press release said. [Read more…]

League of Women Voters cancels Tuesday candidate forum

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge has canceled the candidate forum that had been scheduled for Tuesday, October 18. The forum was for Tennessee legislative and Third District congressional candidates.

The League of Women Voters said it announced the cancellation “with extreme regret.”

Several of the candidates were unable to attend due to prior commitments or other issues, a press release said. [Read more…]

Letter: Fleischmann’s experience needed in Washington

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

There comes a point when individuals in leadership positions need more than just knowledge about legislation and policy—they need experience.

The Third District needs a representative who has already dealt with the pressures, as well as adeptly handled the influence, that comes along with serving in public office. Congressman Fleischmann has supported and pushed many key pieces of legislation through the House, some of which have contributed to a significant reduction in government spending and an increase in job growth.

Congressman Fleischmann has also served honorably on many committees essential to American prosperity and security, such as the Energy and Water Development, Homeland Security and Labor, Health and Human Services Committees. Chuck already knows what it takes to be productive in office. He is the best candidate for the job because he has head knowledge coupled with experience, enhancing his effectiveness and consequently our own welfare as a state and a nation.

More leaders need what Congressman Fleischmann has: solid values and the experience needed to get things done in Washington. I believe in his ability to lead and to serve the interests of Tennesseans and Americans at large. Please join with me in voting for Chuck Fleischmann.​

David Logan

Cleveland, Tennessee

Letter: Headrick has will to solve problems, is knowledgeable, energetic

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

Please vote for a candidate who is grounded in reality, not political dogma.

Please vote for Mary Headrick, the Third District candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a candidate who has the will to solve problems in a timely way and for whom ordinary people are real. She is knowledgeable, capable, and energetic, and will serve this District well.

Virginia M. Jones

Oak Ridge

Letter: Fleischmann a good fit for Third District

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

I have known Chuck Fleischmann for over five years and know him to be a good family man and a person of integrity. Chuck Fleischmann has served nearly three terms in the United States House of Representatives and has never strayed from his conservative values. He has voted in a fashion that fits the values of the majority of the Third District of Tennessee. Chuck, quite simply, is a good fit for the district.

Chuck opposes amnesty, votes to protect the Second Amendment, and supports the free market. He has repeatedly championed our free enterprise system. Chuck is a committed conservative, which can be seen in his voting record.

His commitment to veterans can be seen in the three new Veteran’s Affairs clincs in our district. [Read more…]

Alexander, Fleischmann finish first in primaries

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lamar Alexander and Johnny Alley

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, left, a Tennessee Republican, campaigns at Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, one day before he beat Tea Party challenger Joe Carr, a state representative from Middle Tennessee, in the seven-candidate GOP primary. Alexander is pictured above with Anderson County Property Assessor Johnny Alley.

 

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Ninth District judicial race close; Supreme Court justices retained

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander finished far ahead of a Tea Party challenger in the Republican primary on Thursday, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann narrowly beat Weston Wamp, the son of former Congressman Zach Wamp, in the second battle between the two men.

Alexander’s top opponent in the seven-candidate GOP primary was State Representative Joe Carr of Middle Tennessee. Alexander, who lost in his home district of Blount County, had 329,929 votes, compared to 269,883 for Carr, according to unofficial results posted by the Tennessee Secretary of State.

George Flinn, a Memphis radiologist and radio station owner, finished a distant third, with 34,568 votes.

Alexander, a former Tennessee governor and University of Tennessee president, will face Democrat Gordon Ball in the November 4 general election. [Read more…]

Fleischmann touts record, Appropriations seat; Wamp willing to work across aisle

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

They’ve battled over negative ads, political endorsements, special interest money, and the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, the two-term incumbent, touts his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and, important to Oak Ridge, the Energy and Water Subcommittee.

Meanwhile, Weston Wamp, his challenger, has suggested a willingness to work across party lines to “move the country forward.”

The two men face off in a in two-man battle in the Republican primary on Thursday. It’s in part a rematch of the three-man GOP primary in Tennessee’s Third District in 2012, when Wamp and Scotty Mayfield lost to Fleischmann. [Read more…]

Democratic Women host tea for Mary Headrick on Monday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mary Headrick

Mary Headrick

The Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club will host a tea on Monday, July 28, for Mary Headrick, the Democratic candidate for the Third Congressional District seat, and other female candidates in this year’s elections.

The tea, in support of female Democratic candidates, will be from 5-7 p.m. July 28 at Democratic Headquarters at 125 Leinart St., Suite 3, in Clinton. Tea and light refreshments will be served, a press release said.

Women are invited to come meet Headrick, have tea, and discuss issues important to the Third District, the release said. The club will also offer its support to district candidates for the female position on the Democratic Party Executive Committee: Dixie Damm and Beth Hickman. Other Democratic female candidates from the region are invited to attend.

Robert McKamey to seek re-election to County Commission

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Robert McKamey

Robert McKamey

Robert McKamey, Anderson County commissioner from District 5, will seek re-election in the August 7 general election.

The Fifth District includes the Clinton High School, Dutch Valley, Marlow, and Norwood precincts.

McKamey, 64, served in the old Third District from 1982 until 1994 and has served in the Fifth District since 2006. McKamey serves on several committees, including Operations, Legislative, Nomination, Highway, Human Resource, and Veterans Advisory Committee.

McKamey previously served as chair on the Insurance Sub-Committee, Jail Projects Superintendents Committee, and Legislative Committee, and Long Range Planning Subcommittee. McKamey also served as chairman of the Redistricting Committee, E-911 board of directors, and CASA board of directors. [Read more…]

Fleischmann, Wamp at Q&A session at Chamber on Monday

Posted at
By 1 Comment

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and his Republican challenger Weston Wamp will take part in a question-and-answer session at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce on Monday morning.

The event starts at 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Fleischmann is running for his third term as a congressman in Tennessee’s Third District, which includes Oak Ridge. Wamp is challenging him for the second time.

The two are running in the Aug. 7 federal Republican primary. [Read more…]

U.S. House candidate Wamp launches RV tour in Third District

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Weston Wamp RV

Weston Wamp, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, has launched an RV tour of East Tennessee’s Third District. The campaign visited Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

Weston Wamp, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, has launched an RV tour of East Tennessee’s Third District. The campaign stopped in Oak Ridge on Friday, the fifth day of the tour.

The recreational vehicle—its exterior painted with red, white, and blue campaign slogans, and blue and green mountain vistas—will serve as a rolling campaign headquarters, hotel, and billboard, Wamp said during a Friday morning stop at Roane State Community College.

“I call it our seven-ton commitment to bringing Congress home,” Wamp said. “I hope that it ends up being iconic.”

The RV will make stops at events ranging from baseball games to pancake breakfasts in cities from Athens and Sweetwater in the south to Oneida and Oliver Springs in the north. The campaign will spend three nights a week on the road, generally staying outside of the Chattanooga area, where Wamp lives. The goal is to stay in virtually every incorporated town before the Aug. 7 primary. [Read more…]