Spring elections held in 16 municipalities
By KATE COIL
TML Communications Specialist
Spring elections were held in 16 municipalities across Tennessee with 15 electing members to boards and councils and two cities holding referendums.
The Jackson mayoral election led to a second historic run-off between incumbent Scott Conger and two challengers.
Sevierville voters cast ballots on whether or not to permit retail package stores to sell alcohol while Somerville held a sales tax referendum.
BOLIVAR
The city of Bolivar held a municipal election on May 16.
Newcomer Caroline Miller defeated incumbent Carol B. Spinks with 109 votes to 65 votes for the Council District A Position 1.
Incumbent Larry McKinnie defeated newcomer Donell Polk Jr. With 149 votes to 25 for the District A Position 2. Incumbent Todd N. Lowe also defeated challenger Gwenda Woods with 194 to 48 votes for the Council District B Position 1 seat.
Newcomer Christopher Lee Williams ran unopposed and was elected to the District B Position 3 seat with 208 votes. The seat was previously held by Larry Crawford who resigned in March after moving.
BRENTWOOD
A completely uncontested election was held in Brentwood on May 2.
Incumbents Nelson Andrews, Anne Dunn, Susannah Macmillan, and Ken Travis ran unopposed and were re-elected to the four open seats on the Brentwood City Commission. Macmillan led the vote count with 655 followed by Travis with 647, Andrews with 628, and Dunn with 627.
Mark Gorman was later elected mayor of the city of Brentwood by the Brentwood City Commission while Ken Travis was selected as vice mayor.
DAYTON
Incumbents Bobby Doss and Caleb Yawn defeated challenger Dennis Van Meter for the two open seats on the Dayton City Council in an election held on April 19.
Yawn led the vote total with 628 followed by Doss with 506 and Van Meter with 386.
DUNLAP
Two incumbents were returned to their seats on the Dunlap City Commission in an election held on May 6.
Rebecca Hatfield Card defeated challenger Margie Clemmer for the Commission Seat A by 349 to 128 votes in the only contested election on the ballot. Incumbent Bryan Harman ran unopposed for Commission Seat B and was re-elected to the seat with 218 complimentary votes.
GATLINBUG
The city of Gatlinburg held a municipal election on May 16.
Newcomer James L. “Jay” Horner II defated fellow challenger Brian Papworth with 232 votes to 78 for the Commission Seat A. Kirby Smith has been filling the seat since April after longtime commissioner Don Smith resigned it in February.
Incumbent candidates were unopposed for the two other open seats on the Gatlinburg City Commission. Chad A. Reagan received 273 complimentary votes for the Commission Seat B while current Mayor Mike Werner received 264 for the Commission Seat C.
HOHENWAD
In an election held in Hohenwald on May 4, incumbent Danny McKnight ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor with 312 votes.
On the Hohenwald City Council, incumbents Don Barber, Scottie Bass, and Kevin King will be joined by newcomer Chris Tull after defeating fellow challenger Susan Hensley for the four open seats. Incumbent Cody Mitchell did not seek re-election.
Newcomer Tull led the vote count with 261 followed by Barber with 254, King with 251, Bass with 201, and Hensley with 175.
JACKSBORO
Three new candidates ran unopposed and were elected to seats on the Jacksboro Board of Mayor and Aldermen on April 1.
Greg Cross and Mark Lay were elected to four-year terms while Roy Green was elected to an unexpired two-year term.
JACKSON
Incumbent Scott Conger will face a run-off against challenger and technology manager Ray Condray after neither garnered the 51% of the vote to secure the seat. Conger and Condray faced off against four other candidates: Daryl K. Hubbard, Paul Sherrod, Lisa Williams-Lyons, and Jerry Wayne Woods.
The run-off between Conger and Condray is the second time in Jackson history and the second time Conger has faced a run-off for the seat. When elected to his first term, Conger defeated Woods in a run-off election.
Conger still led the vote total with 3,568 votes followed by Condray with 2,100, Woods with 1,458, Hubbard with 423, Williams-Lyons with 91, and Sherrod with 11. The run-off between Conger and Condray is scheduled for June 13.
In Jackson City Council’s District 1 election, challenger J.P. Stovall unseated incumbent Sam Turner with Stovall earning 491 votes to Turner’s 197.
In the District 5 election, challenger Frank McMeen defeated incumbent Tara Skinner with 488 to 458 votes. Prior to redistricting in 2022, Skinner had represented District 3.
For the District 6, challenger Larry Lowrance defeated fellow newcomer Byron Elam with Lowrance earning 509 votes to Elam’s 492. The seat was previously held by Ross Priddy.
There were also six unopposed races for Jackson City Council. In District 2, incumbent Johnny Dodd ran unopposed and was re-elected with 439 votes. For District 3, newcomer Candice Busby was elected with 659 votes in the seat.
In District 4, Richard Donnell was elected with 498 votes. Donnell was appointed to the role after the resignation of Councilman Ernest Brooks.
Incumbent Marda Phelps Wallace was re-elected to the District 7 seat with 993 votes while incumbent Russ McKelvey was re-elected to the District 8 seat with 866. Newcomer Julie Faulder Holt received 665 votes and will take over the District 9 seat from David Cisco, who did not run for re-election.
MAURY CITY
Alderman Brian Cook narrowly defeated challenger Lauren C. McLaughlin for the mayoral seat in Maury City with Cook earning 67 votes to McLaughlin’s 66. Incumbent Mayor James Rayce Castellaw did not seek re-election in the May 6 election.
Two newcomers will also join three incumbents on the Maury City Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Incumbent Bobby Wells led the vote count with 91 votes followed by incumbent Robert L. Mansfield with 85, newcomer Dera Koonce Fowlkes with 72, incumbent Letha Johnson with 71, and newcomer James D. Jackson with 61.
In addition to Cook who successfully ran for mayor, incumbent Alderwoman Erica Nance did not see re-election.
MORRISTOWN
On May 2 election held in Morristown, incumbent Gary Chesney defeated challenger Rob Burke in the mayoral race with 810 votes to 710.
For the open at-large seat, challenger Joe Senter defeated incumbent Ken Smith with 740 to 709 votes. In Ward 2, incumbent Chris Bivens defeated challenger Katy Tindall Klose with 815 votes to 614.
Ward 4 incumbent Al A’Hearn was unopposed and was re-elected with 1,060 votes.
PARKERS CROSSROADS
Incumbent Tony Hardee defeated challenger Ben Crews with Hardee earning 22 votes to Crews’ 14 in the race for Parkers Crossroads Commissioner.
PIGEON FORGE
Two incumbents ran unopposed for the two open seats on the Pigeon Forge City Commission in the city’s May 9 election.
David W. Wear received 53 complimentary votes for the Commission Seat D while Keith E. Whaley received 55 votes for the Commission Seat E.
RED BOILING SPRINGS
Incumbent Kenneth Hollis defeated challenger and former alderwoman Cynthia Fleming Smalling in the mayoral race in Red Boiling Springs. Hollis earned 160 votes to Smalling’s 39 in the April 22 election.
Three incumbent candidates also ran unopposed and were re-elected to the three open seats on the city council. Linda Lee Carver led the vote count with 158 followed by Michael Rich with 110 and Donna Grisham with 97.
SEVIERVILLE
Incumbent Robbie Fox ran unopposed and was re-elected to the mayoral seat in Sevierville with 951 votes in an election held on May 4.
In the only challenged alderman seat, incumbent Travis McCroskey fended off challenger Leonard Waring III with a vote of 650 to 432 to retain the Alderman Seat 5.
Incumbents Wayne Helton and Devin Koester ran unopposed and were both re-elected to four-year terms in the Alderman Seat 1 and Seat 3 respectively. Helton earned 908 votes while Koester earned 889.
Sevierville voters also approved a measure to permit retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages with a vote of 589-482.
SOMERVILLE
Voters in the town of Somerville approved a referendum to increase the town’s sales tax from 2.25% to 2.75% with 34 voting for the measure and 12 against the increase. The election was held on March 21.
SPRING HILL
Incumbents John Canepari, Matt Fitterer, and Brent Murray, and newcomer Vincent Fuqua all ran unopposed and were re-elected to their respective seats on the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Canepari represents the city’s Ward 1, Fitterer Ward 2, and Murray Ward 3.
Fuqua, a former Spring Hill alderman, ran unopposed for the seat previously held by Alderwoman Hazel Nievers, who decided to not seek re-election. Fuqua also serves on the Maury County Commission.