Candidates seek improvements to community
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Candidates seeking election to a District 5 seat on the Bradley County Commission want improvements for their community.
Jerry Cross and Bobby Goins, both Republicans, seek District 5, Seat A in their party’s May 1 primary. Goins, elected to the Bradley County Commission in 2014, has owned a window cleaning business for nearly 20 years. Cross is a retired rental property manager.
District 5 encompasses the Blythe/Oldfield community and other neighborhoods surrounding South Cleveland’s old industrial area, bordering South Lee Highway and Waterlevel Highway.
“We need revitalizing,” Goins said. “This is the poorest section of the county. A lot of people are concerned about whether it will ever be like it used to be.”
Abandoned and rundown houses are big problems for the district, he said, citing its reliance upon Cleveland codes enforcement and Impact Cleveland, a neighborhood revitalization initiative of the United Way of Bradley County.
Goins voiced concerns about what eventually will happen to former downtown industrial sites.
City planners and stakeholders have identified 850 acres needing renewal.
“A lot of stuff needs to be done,” Goins said.
Cross also cited home improvement as a major need for the district.
“The communities need help on their houses,” he said. “Some people are living pitiful. We need some kind of assistance for these people. I was raised in District 5, and I haven’t seen a bit of change.”
The district’s neighborhoods also need more sidewalks, better roads and a good park, he said.
Cross said he plans to push for these needs with fellow commissioners and support the county’s road department.
“You’ve got to bring it up to have something started,” he said.
No Democrat seeks the contested District 5 seat, meaning the Republican primary winner will run unopposed in the Aug. 2 county general election.
Commissioner Jeff Yarber does not face a challenger for District 5, Seat B.
Early voting begins April 11.
Contact Paul Leach at paul.leach.press@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_3.