Church Hill, Mount Carmel, Surgoinsville to see new leaders

Church Hill's Board of Mayor and Aldermen will see a few new faces after Election Day. James Paul Marsh and Keith Bruner secured four-year aldermen seats, beating out three other newcomers and one incumbent, Ken Luster. The race's other incumbent, Michael Walker, will keep his seat for another four years. Marsh received 19% of the votes. Walker got 17%, and Bruner got about 16%. Incumbent Keith Gibson also won his race for a two-year seat. He received about 50% of the votes, beating fellow incumbent Michael Bell and challenger Kathryn Boggs Metcalf. Bell received 19%, while Metcalf got 30%. All results are unofficial until certified. MOUNT CARMEL Mount Carmel will see one new alderman, Justin Mann, alongside returning incumbents Jim Bare and Jim Gilliam. Mann received the most votes, 28.5%, followed by Gilliam with 26% and Bare with 23.5%. They defeated newcomer Brian Erazmus, who got 21% of the votes. SURGOINSVILLE There will be two new Surgoinsville aldermen: Mark Cook in a four-year term and Teresa Greer in a two-year term. Cook is joined by incumbents Tim Hoss and John Sandidge, who defended their seats. In the four-year race, Hoss led with 23% of the votes, then Sandidge got 21%, then Cook got nearly 18%. They defeated incumbent Kaley Mierek and two newcomers. Greer was unopposed in her race. Surgoinsville will also see a new mayor in Randall Collier, who ran unopposed to succeed longtime Mayor Merrell Graham. Collier is currently the vice mayor and Hawkins County's circuit court clerk. He previously served as a police detective, an investigator with the Third Judicial District Public Defenders Office and a Hawkins County Board of Education chair. BULLS GAP Bulls Gap's Board of Mayor and Aldermen remains unchanged as Mayor Jim Riley, Vice Mayor Betsy Shipley and Alderman Susan Williams defended their seats. Riley received 60.5% of the votes, compared to challenger David S. Gulley Jr.'s 39%. In the alderman race, Shipley was the most popular with about 32% of the votes. Williams followed with 26%. They beat out three challengers. OTHER Sullivan County's Bluff City and Bristol also had municipal elections. For those results, visit scelect.org/results.html. The Rogersville school board remains the same, as unopposed incumbents Barbara Combs, Scott Trent and Julie Philips kept their seats. Read more about the breakdown of these elections and others in the Times News' Weekender on Nov. 7.