Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly wins second term

Tim Kelly will remain mayor of Chattanooga with two council races headed to run-offs and voters approving residency changes for city employees. 

Kelly defeated challenger Chris Long with 85% of the vote. Kelly received 17,356 votes to Long’s 2,750. 

The three incumbent councilmembers  – Chair and District 1 Member Chip Henderson, Vice Chair and District 2 Member Jenny Hill, and Raquetta Dotley – retained their seats. Henderson defeated challenger James “Skip” Burnette 1,947 to 724 while Hill and Dotley ran unopposed.

Newcomer Cody Harvey also ran unopposed for the District 4 seat and was elected. The seat was previously held by Darrin Ledford.

District 5 incumbent Isiah “Ike” Hester lost to newcomer Dennis Clark in a field of four candidates. Clark led the vote tally with 1,576 followed by Hester with 871, Samantha Reid-Hawkins with 191, and Cory Hall with 103. 

Councilmember Jenni Berz, who was appointed to fill the district vacated by the death of her mother Carol Berz, will face Christian Siler in a run-off election to determine the results of the District 6 race. Berz led the vote count with 936 followed by Siler with 322. They defeated challengers Jennifer Gregory with 314, Mark Holland with 289, and Robert C. Wilson with 99.     

Incumbent Marvene Noel of District 8 will also face a run-off election against Anna Golladay. Noel led the vote count with 702 followed by Golladay with 313, Kelvin Scott with 271, and Doll Sandridge with 155.    

For District 3, newcomer Jeff Davis defeated challenger Tom Marshall after Councilmember Ken Smith did not seek re-election since being elected to the Hamilton County Commission. Davis earned 1,365 votes to Marshall’s 1,216.   

Ron Elliott, a former city employee, won the District 9 seat after incumbent Demetrus Coonrod decided to not seek re-election. Elliott led the vote count with 1,778 followed by Letechia Ellis with 528 and Evlina Iren Kertay with 194.    

Chattanoogans also voted 13,411 for to 6,323 against lifting a requirement that all city employees live in Tennessee. The city’s police and fire departments as well as Mayor Tim Kelly backed the proposal, which would allow the hiring of police and fire officials who live just over the state line in Georgia.     

The previous rule allowed hiring someone who lived outside the city of Chattanooga limits so long as they lived in Tennessee, meaning someone who lived hours away in another part of the state could be hired but someone living minutes away in North Georgia could not.