Spring elections held in 14 cities
By KATE COIL
TT&C Assistant Editor
Elections have been held in 14 municipalities across the state of Tennessee this spring.
Results include new mayors in five municipalities: Alamo, Brentwood, Maury City, Sneedville, and Spring Hill.
ALAMO
Alamo held a municipal election on May 3.
Newcomer Kenneth L. Bodkins defeated incumbent John Avery Emison for the mayoral seat. Bodkins earned 262 votes to Emison’s 181.
Incumbents John Reddick, Paul B. Conley IV, and Jim Knox will be joined by newcomer Laura Bell after upsetting incumbent Michael Moore and newcomers Ty C. Conley and Benjamin Duffey in the race for the four open aldermen seats.
Reddick led the vote count with 290 followed by Bell with 248, P. Conley with 234, Knox with 222, Moore with 198, Duffey with 176, and T. Conley with 131.
BELLS
The town of Bells held a municipal election on May 3.
Incumbent mayor Eric Jordan defeated sitting vice mayor Alice F. McDearman and Alderman Ricky Pender to retain his seat. Jordan led the vote count with 154 followed by Pender with 102 and McDearman with 73.
Incumbents Bob Pigue, Scotty Runions, and John Pigue will be joined on the Board of Aldermen by newcomers Adam Alley and Grover King, defeating challenges from James Evans, Edwin R. Goode Jr., Udell Pledge, and McDonald Yancey for the five open alderman seats.
B. Pigue led the vote count with 188 followed by Runions with 180, J. Pigue with 175, Alley with 159, King with 156, Pledge with 122, Yancey with 117, Evans with 112, and Goode with 94. Alley and King will take the seats previously held by McDearman and Pender.
BRENTWOOD
Brentwood held its municipal election on May 6.
Incumbent Rhea Little will be joined on the Brentwood City Commission by newcomers Janet Donahue and Kim Smithson Gawrys, who defeated incumbents Mayor Mark Gorman and Commissioner Allison Spear for their seats.
Little led the vote tally with 6,373 followed by Donahue at 6,180 votes, Gawrys at 5,899, Spears with 2,327, and Gorman with 2,066.
CHATTANOOGA
Chattanooga held a run-off election on April 8 for two city council seats.
Jenni Berz defeated challenger Christian Siler for the District 6 council seat, which was previously held by Berz’s mother, the late Carol Berz. Jenni Berz earned 727 votes to Siler’s 456.
In the District 8 race, incumbent Marvene Noel defeated fellow challenger Anna Golladay 507-251. Noel was appointed to the seat in 2022 and later won a special election for it.
DAYTON
Voters went to the polls in Dayton on April 16. Incumbent Hurley Marsh ran unopposed and as re-elected mayor with 392 complimentary votes.
Incumbent Bill C. Graham will be joined on the Dayton City Council by newcomer McKenzie Boling after defeating fellow challenger Bailey Hufstetler for the two open council seats. Boling led the vote tally with 356 followed by Graham with 275 and Hufstetler with 112.
Boling will take the seat held by longtime Vice Mayor Steve Randolph, who chose not to seek re-election.
FRIENDSHIP
A municipal election was held in Friendship on May 3.
Incumbent Casey Burnett retained the mayoral seat over challenger Bailey Hutchinson with a vote of 88 for Burnett and 59 for Hutchinson.
In the race for the four open aldermen seats, incumbents Rickey Ange and Robert “Jackie” Perry will be joined by newcomers Jeremy DeWitt and Steve Ramsey, defeating incumbent Bob Garrett and challenger Corbyn Garrett. Incumbent John Marvin did not seek re-election to the board.
DeWitt led the vote count with 103 followed by Ange with 98, Ramsey with 87, Perry with 73, B. Garrett with 71, and C. Garrett with 34.
GADSDEN
A municipal election was held on May 3 in Gadsden.
Incumbent Randall S. Smith ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor with 38 complimentary votes.
Incumbents Connie Robinson and Chris Burse will be joined on the Board of Aldermen by Kevin Reyes and Zachary Todd, defeating challenger Shelia Cole Dozier for the four open seats. Incumbents Josh Legions and Gary Mathis did not seek re-election to the board.
Todd led the vote count with 31 followed by Reyes with 29, Burse with 28, Robinson with 27, and Dozier with 16.
JACKSBORO
An election was held in Jacksboro on April 5.
Incumbent Shayne Green defeated challengers Verlin Hatfield and Matthew Housley to retain the mayoral seat in Jacksboro. Green earned 157 votes to Housely’s 81 and Hatfield’s 95.
Incumbent Alderman Roy Green will be joined on the Board of Aldermen by newcomer James E. Snodgrass. Green received 208 votes while Snodgrass received 210. The two ran unopposed for the two open seats on the board.
MAURY CITY
A municipal election was held on May 3 for Maury City.
Alderman Joseph Brian Cook defeated incumbent Jeffrey Castellaw for the mayoral seat. Cook earned 60 votes to Castellaw’s 19.
Incumbents Bobby Wells, Lexie Mansfield, and Letha Johnson will be joined by William I. Jurnett and Dera Koonce Fowlkes on the board of aldermen as the five candidates ran for five open seats. Incumbents Erica Nance and Joseph Brian Cook did not seek re-election to their seats.
Wells led the vote count with 57, Mansfield with 56, Johnson and Jurnett with 53 each, and Fowlkes with 43.
PARKERS CROSSROADS
In the Parkers Crossroads election on May 3, incumbent commissioners Kenneth Kizer and Jamie Simonton ran unopposed and were re-elected to the two open seats.
RED BOILING SPRINGS
A municipal election was held in Red Boiling Springs on April 26.
Incumbent Kenneth Hollis ran unopposed and was re-elected mayor with 26 complimentary votes.
Three incumbent city council members also ran unopposed and were re-elected. George A. McCrary received 22 complimentary votes followed by Helen Gregory with 18 and Trisha Grindstaff with 16.
SEVIERVILLE
Three incumbents ran unopposed and retained their positions after Sevierville’s May 1 election.
Incumbent Robbie Fox was re-elected mayor while Mitch H. Rader and Joey Ohman were re-elected to the Seat 2 and Seat 4 Alderman positions respectively.
SNEEDVILLE
Sneedville held its municipal election on May 3.
Newcomer Tony Lee Seal defeated Alderman William Pat Riley for the mayoral seat in Sneedville. Incumbent Mayor Steve Harrison did not seek re-election. Seal received 127 votes to Riley’s 83.
Incumbents Janet Collins and Michael S. Gibson will be joined on the Board of Aldermen by Janet Cose, Shayden P. Gibson, and Terry Collins, defeating incumbents Myshone Collins and newcomer Ryan Lawson for the five open alderman seats. Incumbent Kenny Reed did not seek re-election while Riley ran for the alderman seat.
J. Collins led the vote count with 171 followed by M. Gibson with 130, Cose with 117, S. Gibson with 103, T. Collins with 98, M. Collins with 96, and Lawson with 60.
SPRING HILL
A municipal election was held April 10 in Spring Hill.
Alderman Matt Fitterer unseated incumbent Jim Hagaman to take the Spring Hill Mayoral seat. Fitter also fended off challenges from Alderman John Canepari and newcomer Rick J. McCreadie in the race. Fitterer led the vote count with 1,717 followed by Hagaman with 1,318, Canepari with 255, and McCreadie with 193.
For the Ward 1 Alderman Race, newcomer Alex Jimenez defeated fellow newcomer Teri Mai 1,790 votes to 1,098 for the seat previously held by Jason Cox, who did not seek re-election.
In the Ward 2 race, newcomer Jaimee Davis unseated incumbent William Pomeroy, also defeating challenges from Greg Groninger and Scott Wernet. Davis earned 1,171 votes followed by Pomeroy with 1,077, Groninger with 509, and Wernert with 344.
Newcomer Erinn Hartwell defeated fellow challenger Diane Cochran for the Ward 3 seat previously held by Kevin Gavigan, who chose not to run again. Hartwell earned 1,593 votes to Cochran’s 1,206.
Incumbent Trent Linville fended off a challenge from Kimberly Hughes to retain the Ward 4 seat. Linville earned 2,046 votes to Hughes’ 1,008.