Kingsport BMA, school board candidates speak at forum

KINGSPORT — Republicans of Kingsport club members heard from several city school board and Board of Mayor and Alderman candidates Monday afternoon. The monthly meeting was held in the Press Room at Food City on Clinchfield Street. The group held a forum with Sullivan County Commission candidates in District 6 through 11 last month and hosted a Sullivan County mayoral candidate forum in January. Represented at Monday's forum were the following candidates: Paul Montgomery (running for Kingsport mayor) Tom Segelhorst (running for Kingsport alderman) Richard Isaacs (running for Kingsport alderman) Calvin Clifton (running for Kingsport alderman) Joshua McMillan (running for Kingsport alderman) Julie Byers (running for Kingsport alderman) Sara Cassidy (running for Kingsport City School Board) Brandon Fletcher (running for Kingsport City School Board) Melissa Woods (running for Kingsport City School Board) Kingsport mayoral candidate Tim Sanders was not in attendance at the forum. Each candidate was given three to five minutes to speak about their platform and background. Paul Montgomery Montgomery said he is the 29th mayor of Kingsport and has served in various capacities with the city over the years. He started as a management trainee at the Kingsport Press and later moved to Eastman Chemical Co. According to Montgomery, the city takes "much pride" in doing great things for the citizens of Kingsport. He listed off accomplishments like the forthcoming IMAX theater, Rural King opening last year, renovation of the Dobyns-Taylor Warehouse, Brickyard Village, the dental clinic and more. "This city has changed a lot for the good in recent years," he said. "And I say that not to take credit for anything, except I've been part of a great organization that's progressively moving the city forward." While a lot of good work has been done, he said there is still more to be done. "We've got a lot more infrastructure to be done," Montgomery said. "We've got a lot more economic development that has to be done. We have more support for education that we have to continue, and the safety of all citizens has to be in play as well." Tom Segelhorst Segelhorst said he was born and raised in a small, rural farming community in Missouri. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Missouri, and later went on to work at several different paper mills, chemical and power plants. He worked at Domtar until 2015 and now works in the HR department at Cardinal Glass Industries in Hawkins County. "Something that my parents told me early on is that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care," he said. He stressed that experience matters, and said he previously served on the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen for six years — while also mentioning what could be considered the strengths and weaknesses of the board. "The weakness of the current BMA is we're losing three of them," he said. "We're losing three dedicated, committed folks that work on the have given time on the Kingsport BMA. I think that's important." Richard Isaacs Isaacs said he lives in Kingsport, but was raised in Coeburn, Virginia. He said he always loved Kingsport, which led him to move here. He graduated from the University of Virginia at Wise and sold cabinets to get through college. "Every time school would be out for more than a weekend, I was coming to Kingsport because my aunt and uncle lived here, and I just thought this was the greatest place in the world," Isaacs said. "And you say, really? I'd say, yeah. If you were raised in the town with two traffic lights, a Hardee's, a Long John's and a Pizza Hut, you would understand." He said he has been in business in Kingsport for almost 27 years, but is also senior pastor at Believers Church of Kingsport. Isaacs said he wanted to run for aldermen to serve his community. "I really wanted to do this and to serve the community that I love so much," Isaacs said. "But I thought about this, we all have a heart for this city. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here today." Calvin Clifton Clifton said he came to work for the city of Kingsport in 1988, where he worked for the traffic department and later the utilities department. He worked as public works director for Athens, Tennessee for about six years before beginning work in the private sector. He currently works with the engineering firm Mattern & Craig. "I wanted to return to my roots here in the Tri-Cities, and I wanted to leave the public sector," Clifton said. "In fact, I was a little bit burned out, and I wanted to go to work in the private sector. I've been blessed now since 2004 to work for a couple different engineers." He serves on the Kingsport Board of Zoning Appeals, Sullivan County Planning Commission and the Tennessee Advisory Commission for Intergovernmental Relations. "This election is nonpartisan, but I stand here today as a conservative Republican, and I remind you of the importance of conservative values in our local government," he said. Joshua McMillan McMillan said he was born and raised in Kingsport, coming from "humble beginnings." He lived in a home in Lynn Garden that has since been condemned, which he did not learn until two years after going into the U.S. Army. He graduated from Lighthouse Christian School, served as a horizontal construction engineer in the army, and attended ETSU for a time. Professionally, he serves as commercial account executive with Price & Ramey Insurance. "My wife and I ended up having our first daughter, so I ended up dropping out of college to get a career to help support my family," McMillan said. "I actually graduate this year from King University, so I went back and finished that up." McMillan said he is running for alderman to carry Kingsport through a "critical point" in time, with a responsibility to communicate and engage with younger audiences in this type of position. "We have a strong foundation, but we cannot afford to drift or to make careless decisions that impact our families and businesses and our futures," he said. "I believe fiscal responsibility is a must. I believe the tax dollars should be handled with discipline and accountability, just like we expect in our own homes and businesses, that should be done in the right way, with transparency." Julie Byers Byers is a graduate of Ohio State University, where she received a degree in chemistry. She said her career started with a family-owned environmental company in Michigan and morphed into over 25 years of experience at Eastman. She has been actively involved in many boards, including local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts groups and various United Way committees. Byers was also on the Kingsport school board for five years. "[Working with] youth, especially those in lower socioeconomic classes, are my passion," she said. "I want them all to have the opportunities that some of the more affluent children have." Byers said she is running to continue serving the place the community is proud to call home and where future generations will want to come back to. "I've traveled a lot, I see what Kingsport has to offer," she said. "I know we have some issues — we need to address the homeless issue. That's not something where you just move people around and you can just forget about it. You need to find support for them." Sara Cassidy From Winnfield, Louisiana, Cassidy said she graduated from Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in communication and a minor in political science. Her husband's work as a power linesman brought them to Kingsport, where they decided to stay after falling in love with the area. She said her mom was a teacher for 36 years, which is where shaw firsthand the dedication and sacrifice teachers make every day. "Teachers go into the profession, not because they want to get paid, because as we know, that's not something they get very much [of]," Cassidy said. "They go in because they have a passion. And my passion right now, and the reason I'm running, is because I want to make sure they get to use their creativity." Cassidy said she is running for Kingsport school board to help "bridge the gap" between the concerns of students and parents to those voting on decisions. "I want to make sure families feel heard and questions feel heard," she said. "I've been in the [parent-teacher association] since my kids have been in public school. I've been on the board, I'm right now vice president of the PTA at Robertson [Middle School], I'll be president next year." Brandon Fletcher Fletcher, current Kingsport City School Board of Education president, has served on the board for the past five years. He said he was raised in Lynn Garden and has been a certified registered nurse anesthetist for the past 14 years. Since joining the board in 2021, he said there has been a positive shift in culture and leadership over time. He mentioned increasing pay for teachers in the first year, initiating a random drug testing program for students in extracurricular activities, overall improvement in state-measured academic metrics, among other milestones. "Although, where there is much to celebrate, there's still much work to be done," Fletcher said. "We want to see all KCS schools become letter A's. We want to see all of our schools exceed Level 5 growth, and for all of our schools to be in the top 10%." Fletcher said Kingsport City Schools has grown to seven Reward Schools and a 96.7% graduation rate at Dobyns-Bennett High School. "We face many challenges, but through dedication, hard work, public awareness and engagement, I believe that we can meet those challenges," he added. Melissa Woods From Carter County, Woods said she is a graduate of Milligan University and came to Kingsport more than 30 years ago to work at Eastman. She listed off some of the school board's same achievements in recent years and her reasons for running again. "I want to give back to a community that's given so much to my family and to me, and I also believe in the power of public education," Woods said. "It not only changed the trajectory of my life, but the life of my kids and generations to come." Woods said he vision for Kingsport education is for every student to feel "uniquely valued" so that they can have a "safe, fun and equitable learning environment." "I want to continue to provide those once-in-a-lifetime co-curricular memories, things like performing in Carnegie Hall, competing internationally or winning a state championship," she said. "I also want to advocate legislatively for our educators and support staff, not only to support them, but to compensate them, to make sure that our schools are fully funded, so that we can compensate our employees appropriately." KCS board candidates will be on the ballot for the May 5 primary election, as well as the Aug. 6 general election. There are two Kingsport school board seats to be filled, with four candidates. Derrick Browder is running as an independent. Candidates for the Kingsport BMA will be on the Aug. 6 ballot. For more information about voting in Kingsport, visit https://www.scelect.org/.