Would-be Sullivan commissioners appear at forum

BLOUNTVILLE — On the eve of early voting for the May 5 Sullivan County primary, a former Sullivan County commissioner attempting to rejoin the 24-member body publicly decried a lack of interest in local elections. In a joint April 14 meeting of the Sullivan County Republican Club and the Bristol Tennessee Republican Club at Jailhouse BBQ in downtown Blountville, Republican primary candidates for county commission in the middle and eastern areas of the county were invited to speak for three minutes on their campaigns and why they should be elected. District 2 candidate and former Commissioner Mark Vance of Bristol asked permission to speak near the end of the event about a prediction of low voter turnout. Among races to be decided in the GOP primary because no Democrats or independents are running is the race for county mayor between Angie Stanley and Zane Vanover of Kingsport, as well as some races for commission seats. "Whoever wins, we've got to get together and work together," Vance said late in the event after his allotted time. He said all candidates need to get out the vote so county Election Administrator Jason Booher's recent prediction that some 12,000 of about 107,000 registered voters will vote in the primary is exceeded. Vance also said the reason the county has had to spend more than $100 million and counting on a new jail is the need to supply space for Tennessee inmates the state can't house. "The state of Tennessee ain't built a jail for 14 years," Vance said of prison built in Bledsoe County in 2012. He said commissioners set the property tax rate, approve a budget and enact policy but can't dictate the actions of other elected constitutional officials. DISTRICT 1 District 1 GOP hopeful Don Thompson of the far northeastern area of the county said he is a retired physician and former Air Force colonel who is a true conservative, not a "watered down" one. He was an independent county school board write-in candidate in 2024 against District 7 board member Mary Rouse of the Bristol area. Thompson said he stands for responsible growth, budgeting and development. "Sullivan County is a great place to live and work," Thompson said of admiring an area overlooking U.S. Route 421 overlooking South Holston Lake in his community and a more than 400-unit residential development in Bristol, both of which add to the property tax and sales tax base. However, to handle such development, he said property zoning and infrastructure is needed as the county must "wean ourselves over this federal spigot" of post-COVID-19 grants and put the county budget in order. He said the county must reduce spending and cut personnel, as well as thin the size of the 24-member commission spread across 11 districts of one to three commissioners per district and cut education expenses. He pledged to be not reactive but "leaning forward" on those and other issues. He will face off with lone Democratic hopeful Terry Marek and lone independent candidate Hunter Woodall in the Aug. 6 general election for the one-seat district. DISTRICT 2 Kim Harvey of the Bristol area spoke about his District 2 candidacy for one of two seats, hoping to win a commission seat his wife, Cheryl, is not seeking again after one four-year term. A 38-year educator, Harvey said he is a fiscal conservative who has spent 12 years as a teacher and coach in Sullivan County Schools and 26 as an administrator. "No. 1, I believe in building relationships," Harvey said, adding that he works toward "learning to listen carefully instead of just reacting." He called himself a "Christian conservative" supporting for integrity, trust, building relationships and gaining wisdom. He said citizens want affordable housing, property taxes kept under control and replacement of decaying infalstrusture. He said his top three issues are safety, schools and job opportunities and training. He ended with a quote from former President Ronald Reagan, a quip to surgeons who were about to operate on him after an assassination attempt. "Please tell me you're Republican," Harvey quoted Reagan as saying, adding to that: "It matters who governs. It truly does." Vance said he is running as a public servant, not a politician. "I have always had a public servant's heart," Vance said. "Several people contacted me about running for County Commission." Others asked why he would get back into "that mess," but he said: "I don't think it's a mess." He said county residents don't understand the importance of the commission, adding that he supported education, especially career technical education, and is thankful the commission combined schools into a new high school and middle school, downsizing facilities to match a dwindling student population and decided to fix the jail. He pledged he will work for the good of the whole county. Incumbent David Akard of Bristol and newcomer Jeff Broyles, former Bluff City mayor, did not attend. No Democrat or independent is running, so the top three vote getters will be unopposed in August. DISTRICT 3 Incumbent Andrew Cross of Bristol is unopposed in his one-seat district and did not attend. No Democrat or independent is running, so he will be unopposed in August. DISTRICT 4 Incumbent Joyce Crosswhite of Blountville said she is proud of the commission's accomplishments. In a six-way race for three seats, she has been on the Budget Committee seven of her eight years as a commissioner, and chairs a committee recommending how the county should spend opioid lawsuit payments. "I'm running again because I love it," Crosswhite said. "It's not just me. It took all of us," she said. "I'm not done. I want to continue." Tracy Haraz, a 25-year veteran of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, said she's retiring from that department in three years and has found on the campaign trail people can't afford their property taxes and health care costs. She said citizens need a voice in how the county spends money and to know what the county spends. "I've found another way to serve the county," Haraz said. "I'm not a politician," she said. "If you want to change my mind, pleased talk with me." Newcomer Josh Hayes cited his 3.5 years on the South Fork Utility Board, where he is secretary. He said the board has turned around troubled finances and is having no more audit findings while improving service without price increases. "I want my kids to grow up in the same Sullivan County I grew up in and we all know and love." He said he and his wife are active in their church, where they help lead the youth group. Hayes said he's been attending commission meetings for about 1.5 years to learn about how the commission and county operate. Newcomer Rick Hicks said he doesn't want closing industries to continue driving people out of the county to find work. "We really need to support NETWORKS (Sullivan Partnership) and get good-paying jobs." He said the Highway Department, schools and emergency services need county financial support, adding he is a conservative born-again Christian. Incumbents Michael Cole and Tony Leonard did not attend. No Democrat or independent is running, so the top three vote getters will be unopposed in August. DISTRICT 5 Challenger and former Commissioner Ty Boomershine, in a three-way race for two seats, said he wants to serve the Bluff City, Piney Flats and Hickory Tree areas he did in District 5 as a commissioner in 2010. A 23-year employee with the sheriff's office, he said he has insights to the department and the jail, has operated a restaurant near Bristol Motor Speedway for 18 years and taught criminal justice at Sullivan East High School before recently retiring after 15 years. He said some have told him he is taking the race too seriously. "I've taken every job I've had seriously," he said. While commissioner he was on the Budget, Insurance and School Safety committees and said he can provide insight into the new jail and school resource officer needs. Incumbent Dwight King of Piney Flats said he supports the schools offering career technical education, which he said are like the the two co-ops he did while an industrial technology student at East Tennessee State University. He said he learned three times as much out in the field than in a classroom and made the dean's list during his time at ETSU. "We've got to have CTE to have people in high schools get some kind of trade," King said. He said the county is "probably four or five months out" before inmates can populate the new jail still being finished, adding that the current facility with as many as 25 to 30 inmates in one cell is not safe for inmates or jailers. "It'll probably be $140 million by the time we get done with it," King said. "One death in that jail is too many." He said the county must keep the jail certified to avoid lawsuits and keep money coming for housing state inmates short term. He said closing five schools had to be done since the then-existing facilities were only 40% full. "I've been there 16 years," King said. "This will be my last campaign." King later asked if he could speak more since Vance did, but he declined when told he could. District 5 incumbent Herschel Glover of Bluff City did not attend. No Democrat or independent is running, so the top two vote getters will be unopposed in August. Republican candidates for commission districts 6-11 in and around Kingsport participated in an earlier Republicans of Kingsport forum. Also, the Times News published questionnaires for contested commission races online and in print in a special election section April 11.