Voters go to polls in 55 municipal elections

Elections were held in 55 municipalities on Aug. 1, 2024, to coincide with state and federal primary elections. 

In addition to elected mayors and members of councils, commissions, and boards, three municipalities – Bartlett, Germantown, and Oak Ridge - held elections solely for the election of judges while Johnson City held an election to elect a juvenile court clerk and determine the result of four municipal referendums – all of which were rejected. 

ALEXANDRIA 

Newcomer Beth Tripp ran unopposed and was elected with 88 complimentary votes to the seat previously held by Curtis Rutter. Two write-in candidates failed to outbid her for the seat with Rodney Lawson and Rusty Bradshaw obtaining 64 and 18 write-in votes respectively.  

For the three open alderman seats, Jonathon Tripp will be joined by two write-in candidates Luke Prichard and Bobby Simpson. Prichard led the vote count with 97 followed by Tripp with 92 and Simpson with 62. 

In the unexpired race, Jeff Ford was the lone qualifying candidate but will be joined by write-in candidates incumbent Alderman Bobbie Ford and former mayor Curits Rutter. Ford led the total with 79 followed by Ford with 39 and Rutter with 16.  

ALGOOD 

Newcomer Roger Williams will be joined by incumbent Luke Hill, narrowly beating out incumbent Ronald S. Graves and newcomer Tim McPherson for the two open council seats in Algood. 

Williams earned 220 votes, followed by Hill with 149, Graves with 148, and McPherson with 93. 

ARLINGTON 

Incumbent Mike Wissman ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor of Arlington with 1,519 complimentary votes.  

Newcomer Dwight Barker defeated challenger Jordan D. Hinders 978-553 for the Ward 2 seat previously held by Russell Wiseman. 

Both incumbent candidates for the Position 1 and Position 3 alderman seats ran unopposed and were re-elected. Larry M. Harmon kept the Position 1 seat with 1,489 votes and Jeff McKee kept the Position 3 seat with 1,456.  

ASHLAND CITY 

Newcomer Gerald Greer defeated incumbent mayor J.T. Smith and challenger Kody Night for the mayoral seat in Ashland City. Greer earned 340 votes to Smith’s 304 and Knight’s 26.  

In the Ward 1 race, incumbent Michael W. Smith fended off challenger Floyd Beal with 369 votes to 244 votes.  

Running unopposed, newcomer Nicole L. Binkley won the Ward 2 seat previously held by Greer while incumbent Chris Kerrigan retained the Ward 3 seat.  

BAILEYTON 

Newcomer Jamie Tilson ran unopposed and was elected mayor of Baileyton. The seat was previously held by William K. Kerr. 

Incumbent aldermen Steve Hall and Sherrie L. Ottinger ran unopposed and were re-elected to their seats while no candidate qualified for the unexpired alderman seat.  

BARTLETT 

Incumbent Dan Brown ran unopposed and was re-elected as the municipal judge for Bartlett’s Division 2 with 4,771 complimentary votes. 

BAXTER 

Incumbent John Martin was the sole qualifying candidate but was defeated by write-in candidate former Police Chief Danny Holmes by 176-123. Incumbents Jeff Herald and Dustin J. Stanton also ran unopposed and were re-elected to the two open council seats with Stanton earning 174 votes and Herald earning 173.  

BELL BUCKLE 

Incumbent Betsy Wheeler will be joined by newcomer Tina Johns after they both ran unopposed and were elected to the two open alderman seats.  

CHAPEL HILL 

Incumbents Craig McPherson and Joe Sedlak will be joined by newcomer Hawken King on the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen, fending off challenges from David Breniser and Ben Hudson. King led the vote count with 121 followed by McPherson with 99, Sedlak with 92, Hudson with 68, and Breniser with 43. Vice Mayor Marion Joyce did not seek re-election. 

CHARLESTON 

Incumbent Donna McDermott will be joined by newcomer David Lattimore on the Charleston City Commission after defeating a field of challengers including Melissa L. Kersey, Christopher A. Scoggins, Stanton Andy Scoggins, and Matthew C. Riley.  

Lattimore earned the most votes with 76 followed by McDermott with 51, Wiley with 49, C. Scoggins with 26, Kersey with 13, and S. Scoggins with 8. Incumbent Christopher Dunn did not seek re-election for his seat.  

Faye Callaway ran unopposed and was elected to the single, unexpired term on the Charleston City Commission with 98 complimentary votes. 

CLEVELAND 

Newcomer Dan Moore defeated challenger Warbrit Russell Lowery for the At-Large seat on the Cleveland City Council. Moore earned 2,389 votes to Lowery’s 705. The seat was previously held by longtime Vice Mayor Avery Johnson. 

In the District 5 seat, Duane Goff defeated fellow challengers Daniel F. Jones and Mark Gravelle for the seat previously held by Dale R. Hughes. Goff earned 506 votes to Gravelle’s 423 and Jones’ 97.  

Two candidates ran unopposed: Tom Cassada in District 3 and David May Jr. In District 4. Both were incumbents with Cassada receiving 732 complimentary votes and May receiving 629. 

DOWELLTOWN 

No candidate qualified for either the mayoral seat or the two alderman seats in Dowelltown. 

ELKTON 

Incumbent Ryan Gilland ran unopposed and was elected to the unexpired mayoral term. 

Incumbents Payton Blade, Steve Scott, and Bobby L. Sherrell will be joined by newcomer Bryse Blade on the board of alderman. Scott led the vote count with 34 followed by P. Blade with 27 and B. Blade and Sherrell both earning 26 votes.  

ENGLEWOOD 

Incumbent Ton R. Hawn ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor of Englewood while incumbents Dwayne “Wally” Arrowood and Chris Cochran ran unopposed and were re-elected to the two open city commission seats.  

ENVILLE 

Incumbent Melinda Johnston ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor with 19 complimentary votes. 

Five candidates ran unopposed and were elected to the five open seats on the Enville Board of Alderman. Incumbents Shane Johnston, Wanda Kaye Ritter, and Nickalaus Weatherington will be joined by newcomers James Parker Herndon and Molly M. Marchbanks on the council, filling two vacant seats.  

Marchbanks led the vote count with 22 followed by Herndon with 21, Ritter with 18, Weatherington with 17, and Johnston with 8.  

ERIN 

For the Ward 1 Alderman seat, incumbent Jackqlyn Largent Smith fended off challenger Wesley Mitchum by one vote with a count of 20-19.  

Three races were unopposed. Newcomer Betsy Ligon received 16 complimentary votes for the Ward 2 seat, incumbent Jacquline Parchman received 28 complimentary votes in Ward 3, Cary Rye received 29 complimentary votes for the unexpired Ward 3 term, and no candidate qualified for the Ward 4 seat.  

ETOWAH 

Incumbent Diana Elrod will be joined by newcomer Steve Fain after fending off a challenge from Brian Ragsdale in the Etowah City Commission race. Elrod led with 138 votes to Fain’s 126 and Ragsdale’s 74 votes. 

FARRAGUT 

Newcomer Alexander J. Cain defeated fellow challenger Jeffrey Devlin 1,074-702 for the Ward 1 seat in Farragut. 

Incumbent Drew Burnette held off challenger Randal Roberts 1,134-848 in the Ward 2 seat. 

FRIENDSVILLE 

In the Friendsville City Commission race, both incumbents Steven Cardwell and Margaret Maze ran unopposed and were re-elected. Cardwell received 108 complimentary votes while Maze received 61. 

GAINESBORO 

Incumbent mayor Lloyd Williams ran unopposed and was re-elected with 83 complimentary votes.  

Newcomers Tom Goetz, Deborah Whitaker, and Beth Young defeated incumbent Nancy Pruett for the three open alderman seats. Whitaker led the vote count with 81 followed by Goetz with 76, Young with 72, and Pruett with 66. Eric Bartholomew and Ricky Head did not seek re-election.  

GERMANTOWN 

Rhea Clift defeated fellow challenger Justin Gee 4,085-2,391 to take the municipal judge division 1 unexpired term seat. Clift will fill the remaining six years in the seat that was previously held by her father, Judge Raymond Clift Jr. 

GREENBRIER 

Incumbent Lanny Adcock ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor of Greenbrier. 

Incumbent alderman Jeff DeLong fended off challenger Toni Carver for the Ward 2 seat 69-33.  

Two incumbent aldermen also ran unopposed and were re-elected to their seats: Donald S. Toohey for Ward 1 and Bill Deaver for Ward 3. 

GREENEVILLE 

Incumbent Calvin “Cal” Doty defeated former mayor W.T. Daniels for the mayoral seat in Greeneville. Doty earned 1,154 votes to Daniels; 783. 

Meanwhile, incumbent Tim Teague will be joined by newcomer Matt Hensley after defeated incumbent Scott Bullington and challengers Jonathan Sevier Cave and Petter E. Higgins for the two open Council Ward 2 seats. Teague led with 396 votes followed by Hensley with 388, Bullington with 318, Cave with 219, and Higgins with 170.  

Doug DeBusk ran unopposed and was elected water commissioner. 

HARRIMAN 

Incumbent Wayne Best ran unopposed and was re-elected as mayor of Harriman. 

The three open city council seats were secured by incumbents Timothy A. Johnson and Brian Frost along with newcomer Cheryl Wester-Laxton, defeating challenges from Hunter Brooke Pathirana and Thomas Utter. 

Wester-Laxton led the vote count with 554 followed by Johnson with 442, Frost with 433, Pathirana with 200, and Utter with 145.  

HENDERSON 

Newcomer Terry F. Bell defeated Alderman Mark A. Barber for the mayoral seat previously held by Bobby King. Bell earned 463 votes to Barber’s 300. 

In the Henderson Alderman race, incumbents Jason Rhodes, Michael Phelps, and Buel Maness fended off newcomers Sheila Eckard and Norma Cox Meissner to obtain the three open seats. Rhodes led the vote count with 550 followed by Phelps with 479, Maness with 460, Eckard with 249, and Meissner with 216. 

JOHNSON CITY 

Ginger Whiston ran unopposed and was elected juvenile court clerk in Johnson City.  

Voters also rejected all four proposed charter changes. The first would have allowed the city to save $5,000 by allowing meetings to be advertised only once rather than twice and failed by 84 votes (2,412-2,328). The second would have lowered the number of government readings on actions from three to two and failed 2,769 to 1,933. The third would have given the city manager the authority to appoint temporary employees for up to 90 days and failed 2,790-1,1916. The fourth would have moved elections from November to August and failed 2,731 to 1,903.  

KINGSPORT 

Alderman Paul Montgomery defeated fellow alderman Collette George and challengers Sara E. Buchanan and Tim Sanders for the mayoral seat held by Patrick Shull. Montgomery led the vote count with 3,326 followed by George with 2,625, Buchanan with 1,240, and Sanders with 589. 

Incumbents Darrell Duncan and James Phillips will be joined by Morris Baker on the board of aldermen, fending off challenger Julie Byers. Tommy Olterman did not seek re-election. Duncan led the vote count with 5,244 followed by Baker with 4,587, Phillips with 4,405, and Byers with 4,100. 

LEWISBURG 

In the Ward 5 City Council Race, newcomer Shannon Crutcher defeated incumbent Joseph Bradford 99-73.  

Newcomer Linda Thomas also ran unopposed and was elected to the Ward 1 seat in Lewisburg previously held by Patty Parsons, who did not seek re-election.  

LINDEN 

Three incumbents ran unopposed and were re-elected in Linden. Billy Ray Yarbro kept the Ward 1 seat, Bart Young in Ward 2, and Joey Mackin in Ward 3. 

LOBELVILLE 

Incumbents Steve Hester and J.B. Trull ran unopposed and were re-elected to their aldermen seats in Lobelville.  

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 

Five incumbents ran unopposed and were re-elected to the Lookout Mountain Town Commission. Walker Jones led the vote count with 514, followed by Karen Leavengood with 487, Joseph Hailey with 483, Jim Bentley with 469, and William Valadez with 456.  

LYNNVILLE 

Former alderman Tim Turner defeated challenger Gordon Gregory for the Lynnville mayoral seat previously held by Robert E. White. Turner earned 59 votes to Gregory’s 37. 

Incumbent Kerry Duke will be joined by newcomer Keela Hood after defeating incumbent Carnell McCandless and challenger William Morse for the two open alderman seats. Hood led the vote count with 77 followed by Duke with 46, Morse with 27, and McCandless with 20.  

MANCHESTER 

Newcomer Joey Hobbs fended off former alderman Bob Bellamy and challenger Bill Nickels for the mayoral seat previously held by Marilyn Howard. Jobbs earned 661 votes to Nickels’ 464 and Bellamy’s 309.  

In Manchester’s alderman race, incumbents Julie Anderson and Ryan French will be joined by James Threet, defeating challengers Joe Pat Cope, John Revice Fletcher, Shannon Fletcher, Harold Jones, and Wilma Thomas for the three open seats. Threet took the seat previously held by Bellamy.  

Anderson led the vote count with 686 followed by French with 507, Threet with 490, Thomas with 487. Cope, J. Fletcher, S. Fletcher, and Jones 

MICHIE 

Alderman Jed Baker ran unopposed and was elected to the Michie mayoral seat previously held by Anthony Smith with 44 complimentary votes. 

Incumbent Wesley Rainey will also be joined by newcomer Robert Dunn for the two open alderman seats. Dunn received 42 votes while Rainey received 36.  

MINOR HILL 

Newcomer Roger Thompson was elected to one of the two open alderman seats in Minor Hill with 23 votes. No other candidate qualified. 

MONTEREY 

Alderman Alex Garcia defeated newcomer Jeremiah Bowman 167 to 104 for the Monterey mayoral seat. Mark Farley had been appointed to serve the term as interim after the death of sitting Mayor Nathan Walker from cancer in 2022.  

In the alderman Ward 1 seat previously held by Garcia, Kevin Peters defeated Spencer Delk with 164 votes to 92. 

For the Ward 2 seat, newcomer Larry D. Bennett defeated appointed incumbent Mark Farley 144 to 130. In the Ward 4 seat, challenger Jamie Phillips also unseated incumbent Charles Looper with 160 votes to 109 votes. 

A decision will be made after reviewing the town charter for the Ward 3 race as both incumbent James Foster and newcomer Cecilia A. Paulsen both secured 135 votes.  

MOSHEIM 

Incumbent Rick Cunningham ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor of Mosheim. 

Three incumbents also ran uncontested for alderman seats. Stacy R. Carter and James A. Foshie will retain their alderman seats while Matthew D. Solomon will continue the unexpired alderman term. 

MURFREESBORO 

Incumbents Bill Shacklett, Kirt Wade, and Shawn Wright will return to the Murfreesboro City Council, fending off challenges from Kelly Northcutt and Matt Herriman. Wright led the vote count with 5,234 followed by Shacklett with 4,701, Wade with 4,517, Northcutt with 4,309, and Herriman with 4,249. 

NEW JOHNSONVILLE 

Alderman Nathan Wayne Woods unseated incumbent David Cagle and defeated challenger Shane Daniel for the mayoral seat in New Johnsonville. Woods received 162 votes followed by Cagle with 105 and Daniel with 102.  

For the city council race, newcomers James Corbitt, Ron Gingerich, and Chris Browning defeated both incumbent Charles Bradford and Cody Keslinger for the three open seats. Corbitt led the vote count with 220 followed by Browning and Gingerich with 193 then Bradford with 172 and Keslinger with 98.  

Incumbents Justin Nichols and Stella Matney did not seek re-election to their seats.  

OAK HILL 

Incumbents David DeMarco and Winston Evans ran unopposed and were re-elected to the Oak Hill City Commission. DeMarco earned 308 complimentary votes while Evans earned 304.  

OAK RIDGE 

James T. “Jim” Normand ran unopposed and will serve as city judge in Oak Ridge. Normand had been appointed interim judge following the retirement of Judge Robert McNees III. 

PEGRAM 

Newcomer and former Pegram alderman Charles Morehead ran unopposed and was e-elected to the mayoral seat previously held by John Louallen, who did not seek re-election. 

Incumbent Bob Sanders will be joined by newcomer Miranda Montgomery on the two open alderman seats in Pegram, fending off challengers Christopher Crump, Randy Fiedler, Leah Louallen, and Hope Tinsley.  

Montgomery led the vote count with 275 followed by Sanders with 217, Louallen with 215, Crump with 120, Tinsley with 42, and Fiedler with 27. Incumbent Robert “Bo” Sanders III did not seek re-election to his seat.  

PETERSBURG 

Three candidates ran unopposed and were elected as aldermen in Petersburg. Incumbent Kevin J. Coffield will be joined by newcomers Charles Gatlin and Shantel Gatlin on the board. Coffield received 45 votes, C. Gatlin received 44 votes while S. Gatlin received 43. 

RIPLEY 

Incumbent Craig Fitzhugh fended off challengers Kaye Jordon and Dorisha L. Wright for the mayoral seat in Ripley. Fitzhugh earned 612 followed by Jordon with 423 and Wright with 98. 

Newcomer Kenneth Long unseated incumbent Paul Hankins 256-243 for the Alderman Ward 1, Position A seat. Newcomer Chakita Keeley also unseated incumbent Janice Treadaway 212-186 for the Ward 2, Position B seat. 

All other candidates ran unopposed including incumbents Billy Chimpan for the Ward 1, Position B seat; Nyrita Alston for the Ward 3, Position A seat; and Austin Thompson Jr. for the Ward 3, Position B seat as well as newcomer Tyler Frazier, who ran unopposed for the Ward 2, Position A seat previously held by Bill Davis.  

SARDIS 

Alderman Jason Craig ran unopposed and took the mayoral seat previously held by J.W. Creasy. Craig received 56.  

In the alderman, incumbent Richard Holland will be joined by newcomers Debbie Brown, Jerald Hopper, and Brad Smith after unseating incumbents Larry Smith and Gail Wade. Incumbents Kenneth Scott and Jason Craig did not seek re-election to their seats. 

Brown led the vote count with 46 followed by Holland with 45, Hopper with 44, B. Smith with 35, Wade with 29, and L. Smith with 28. 

SMITHVILLE 

Incumbents Jessica L. Higgins, Shawn Jacobs, and Danny Washer ran unopposed and will retain their seats on the Smithville Board of Aldermen. Jacobs led the vote count with 203 followed by Higgins with 191 and Washer with 186  

SOUTH CARTHAGE 

Two newcomers ran unopposed and were elected to alderman seats in South Carthage. James Wilson Smith will serve in Ward 1 after receiving 31 complimentary votes while Janice K. Wilmore will serve Ward 3 after earning 36.  

SPARTA 

In the Sparta Board of Alderman race, incumbents Judy Parker Payne and Brent L. Young will be joined by former alderman Hoyt Jones on board after defeating incumbent Brian M. Jones in the race. 

Payne led the vote count with 373 followed by H. Jones with 357, Young with 299, and B. Jones with 293. 

SPRING CITY 

Vice Mayor Leon Locke unseated incumbent Wood Evans and defeated challenger Reed Smith for the Spring City mayoral seat. Locke earned 139 votes followed by Smith with 131 and Evans with 56.  

For the two open commission seats, incumbent Kevin W. Jenkins will be joined by newcomer Thomas Beaver, receiving 231 and 191 votes respectively.  

TENNESSEE RIDGE 

Incumbent Stony Odom ran unopposed and received 165 complimentary votes in the mayoral race. 

Incumbent Bryan Bumpus will be joined by newcomer Darrell Allison after fending off Ann Dew for the two open city commission seats. Allison led the vote count with 131, followed by Bumpus with 116, and Dew with 90.  

David Wood ran unopposed and received 165 complimentary votes for the unexpired term on the commission. 

TOWNSEND 

In the Townsend City Commission race, incumbent Becky Headrick will be joined by newcomer Pat Jenkins after defeating incumbent Ted Godrey and challengers David Hoque and Houston Oldman for the two open seats. Headrick led the vote tally with 106 followed by Jenkins with 72, Godfrey with 51, Hoque with 49, and Oldham with 44.  

TULLAHOMA 

County Commissioner Charles “Lynn” Seabourn defeated alderman Kurt Glick and challengers Petros Pisinos, and C. Scott Shasteen for the mayoral seat previously held by Ray Knowis. Seborun earned 986 votes to Glick’s 443, Pisinos’ 141, and Shasteen, who received 140 votes after withdrawing from the race earlier.  

Busch Thoma, Sernobia McGee, and Matthew Bird defeated fellow newcomers Franklin Cammack and John Santana for the three open seats on the board of aldermen. Thoma led the vote count with 1,956 followed by McGee with 1,558, Bird with 1,493, Carmack with 1,217, and Santana with 1,210. 

WARTBURG 

While no candidate qualified for the open at-large alderman seat, Bacel Gunter received five write-in votes. 

WAYNESBORO 

Two incumbent commissioners ran unopposed in Waynesboro and were re-elected: Jeff Davis and Lynn Warren, receiving 121 and 106 votes respectively. 

WHITEVILLE 

Incumbent Gene A. Bowden defeated challenger Aubrey Phillips 71-60 to keep the mayoral seat in Whiteville. 

In the alderman race, incumbent Tommy Turner and Ernest L. Pirtle will be joined by newcomer Mattie Polk-Nelson who defeated incumbent Deborah Burkeen. Turner led the vote count with 161, Pirtle with 160, Polk-Nelson with 126, and Burkeen with 119.