Commission, school board seats on ballot
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Voters will decide a handful of contested Bradley County seats in the Aug. 2 election.
Republican voters settled all partisan races except for District 7, Seat A, on the Bradley County Commission in the May 1 primary. The nonpartisan Bradley County Board of Education elections have yielded contests for the District 2 and District 4 seats.
Educator Kevin Raper, a Republican, faces Tammy Davis, a real estate professional and co-chairman of the Bradley County Democratic Party, for the undecided county commission seat. Both candidates cite concerns over ensuring the county’s infrastructure meets the needs of a growing population.
Davis has called for diversity on the commission to better represent the county’s needs, pointing out the lack of women serving in the body.
“Because there is no diversity [on the commission], I think sometimes people are afraid to speak up,” she said. “We have to be willing to do that.”
The county’s greatest challenge will be to serve an increasing number of residents while spending within its means, Raper has said.
“I want to listen to the people of Bradley County and come up with creative ideas to stretch our taxpayer dollars as far we can,” he said.
Mark Hall, who currently holds the commission seat, halted his re-election bid in January to seek the Tennessee House District 24 seat.
Of the three school board seats in this election cycle, Amanda Lee of District 6 stands as the only incumbent seeking re-election unopposed.
Incumbents Vicki Beaty and Dianna Calfee face challenges from Chris Cassada and Troy Weathers for the District 2 and District 4 seats, respectively.
If re-elected, Beaty will serve a third term.
She cites nearly 50 years of service as an educator, school administrator and board member as her motivation.
“I have spent my entire life in education,” Beaty has said. “I’ve just had a great opportunity to serve the community and would like to continue to do so.”
Cassada, a soft drink
bottling company account developer and former president of the Tennessee Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Foundation, calls his election bid a service opportunity.
“To be part of something bigger than myself outweighs everything I’ve done in my life,” he said. “I want to be someone who listens to teachers’ and parents’ concerns.”
For Calfee and Weathers, this contest is a rematch. In 2014, Calfee defeated Weathers, who had held the office for 16 years. Both have said the election means putting students before politics.
Weathers has criticized Calfee’s support for the February 2015 contract buyout of then-Superintendent Johnny McDaniel. He described the decision as a matter of personal agendas and poor financial management.
“We’ve done a poor job with the funds we have,” he said. “I’m certainly not going to waste money.”
The McDaniel buyout was “one of the hardest decisions” she has made, Calfee said, dismissing allegations of personal bias.
She calls for “thinking outside the box” to find new sources of revenue without raising taxes for school needs, citing her support for an energy efficiency initiative as an example.
Early voting begins July 13.
Contact Paul Leach at paul.leach.press@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_3.