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Six qualify for City Council District 6 special election
Friday, November 16, 2007
By Michael Davis
Staff Writer
Six people have qualified for the Feb. 5 special election for the Chattanooga City Council District 6 seat vacated by former Councilwoman Marti Rutherford.
Carol Berz, Julie Chamberlain, Melinda Hickey, Rick Igou, Barbara Kelley and Charles Shaw met Thursday's deadline, according to the Hamilton County Election Commission. "I think it'll be a highly contested race," said Bud Knowles, administrator of the Hamilton County Election Commission.
Ms. Rutherford announced her resignation Oct. 1 amid charges that she did not live in the district. City Attorney Randy Nelson had filed an ouster lawsuit seeking to remove her from the office.
Dr. Berz is chief executive officer of Private Dispute Resolution Services LLC, and Ms. Chamberlain, a former city employee, ran against Ms. Rutherford in the 2005 District 6 race.
Ms. Hickey, who distributed letters seeking support for Ms. Rutherford during her residency controversy, is past president of the Belvoir Neighborhood Association. Rick Igou is owner of nooga.com, Barbara
Kelley is the widow of former Mayor Ralph Kelley, and Charles Shaw owns Aunt Sue's K-9 Bakery & Pet Supplies.
The winner of the special election will serve out of the rest of Ms. Rutherford's four-year term, which expires in spring 2009.
The Chattanooga City Council is expected next Tuesday night to select an interim caretaker to hold the seat before the special election. The four people who applied are: former Chattanooga Police Chief Steve Parks, retired city employee Donna Weeks, St. Andrews Center Executive Director Mike Feely and Matthew Rivers, an analyst with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
The District 6 special election will take place the same day as Tennessee's presidential primary and the Hamilton County assessor of property's election, said Charlotte Mullis with the Election Commission.
Council Chairman Dan Page said Thursday that he hopes all the recent publicity related to District 6 will lead to higher turnout than usual.
"Like any other election, it's important that the voters turn out," he said.
District 6 includes the following precincts, according to the city's Web site: Airport 1, 2 & 4, Brainerd, Brainerd Hills, Concord 3, Eastgate 2, Sunnyside and Tyner 2 & 4.
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