Early TNJ edition alert: An interview with the new Chattanooga mayor and a deep dive into the GOP’s state House redistricting plan
It’s the year’s last print edition of The Tennessee Journal! Don’t all rejoice at once! Here’s what we delved into this week:
— New Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly sits down for an interview with TNJ to discuss his unlikely path to elected office and his plans for the state’s fourth biggest city. Kelly talks early childhood education, the challenges facing midsized cities, and his efforts to bridge racial gaps.
— Redistricting update: A look at how the Republican plan for redrawing state House districts might affect incumbents on both sides of the aisle.
Also: Richard Briggs wonders if politics might soon inform hemorrhoid treatment decisions, Katrina Robinson gets pretrial diversion in her second federal fraud case, and our annual look at what Tennessee politicos should get for Christmas (spoiler alert: nothing good).
As always, access your copy of the TNJ here or subscribe here.
Happy holidays!
Here are the maps for the Chattanooga mayor’s race
Our favorite political mapmaker is at it again. This time he’s breaking down the Chattanooga Mayor’s race won by businessman Tim Kelly.
Kelly, the former owner of a prominent auto dealership and the Chattanooga Brewing Co., defeated Kim White, a protege of former Mayor Bob Corker who had the support of the Chamber crowd, by 20 percentage points last week. Kelly has succeeded term-limited Mayor Andy Berke.
Kelly and White were separated by just one percentage point in the first round to qualify for the runoff. Here’s a closer look at first round, which featured 15 candidates:
Kelly, who broke with Republicans over the nomination of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race, describes himself as being a member of the “Chattanooga Party.” During the runoff phase, Kelly gained endorsements from the African-American community, including from four black candidates who split 36% of the vote in the first round. They included third-place finisher Wade Hinton, a former city attorney who had been Berke’s choice in the race.
Here’s how the runoff panned out:
Again many thanks to Don Johnson for his fine work. Follow him on Twitter for more fine maps.
Kelly, White advance to runoff for Chattanooga mayor
Powersports dealer Tim Kelly and former economic development nonprofit president Kim White have advanced to the runoff to succeed term-limited Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke.
Kelly has said he doesn’t identify with either party. He gave donations to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden last year and Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd in 2018. The son of a former Cadillac dealer, Kelly sold his own Subaru franchise last year. He still owns a large Honda powersports dealership.
White was the choice among conservative voters and the Chamber of Commerce crowd. She used to work for the real estate company of Bob Corker, a former mayor and U.S. senator. She later headed the River City Co.
Wade Hinton, a former city attorney under Berke, finished third.
Here are the top finishers among the 15 candidates:
| Tim Kelly | 8,562 | 30% |
| Kim White | 8,289 | 29% |
| Wade Hinton | 6,108 | 22% |
| Monty R Bruell | 2,407 | 8% |
| Russell J Gilbert Sr. | 889 | 3% |
| Elenora Woods | 805 | 3% |
| Chris Long | 491 | 2% |
| Erskine Oglesby Jr. | 322 | 1% |
| Monty Dewayne Bell | 157 | 1% |
The runoff is scheduled for April 13.
