Coppinger highlights

A timeline of Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger’s career:

› 1973: Coppinger graduates from Hixson High, after leading the Wildcat football team as its quarterback in 1972.

› 1977: After attending Chattanooga State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Coppinger takes a job as a cadet at the Chattanooga Fire Department.

› 1997: Coppinger becomes fire chief after being appointed by then-Mayor Jon Kinsey. He had previously served as the department’s public information officer, serving as the main contact for the media.

› August 2006: Coppinger is elected to serve as Hamilton County Commissioner for District 3, which included Hixson, Middle Valley and Lakesite. He replaced Charlotte Vandergriff, who decided not to seek re-election.

› January 2011: Coppinger is sworn in as Hamilton County Mayor with a unanimous show of support from the Hamilton County Commission. The appointment came just after former Mayor Claude Ramsey resigned to become deputy governor.

› August 2012: Then-interim County Mayor Jim Coppinger earns two more years in the courthouse by winning more than two-thirds of the vote to beat Democrat Rick Wilson and independent Richard Ford.

› May 2014: Coppinger defends his title in a primary election against challenger Basil Marceaux. Coppinger walked away with 15,003 votes to defeat Marceaux, who earned 1,442 votes.

› August 2014: Coppinger faces independent candidate Richard Ford for Hamilton County mayor. He wins.

› August 2018: Coppinger beats Democratic challenger Aloyse Brown to keep the position of Hamilton County mayor. With all 130 precincts reporting, Coppinger had 33,576 votes to Brown’s 22,025.

› October 2021: Coppinger announced he would not seek re-election in 2022 after all, citing a desire to spend more time with family.