Seven seeking one of three seats in Sullivan's 4th District

Seven people are running in Thursday’s election to win one of three seats representing parts of Blountville and Bristol on the 24-member Sullivan County Commission.

The list of candidates on the ballot hoping to represent the commission’s 4th District includes two incumbents and a group of challengers with a wide array of backgrounds.

The district includes voters at the Buffalo Ruritan Building, Sullivan County Office Building and Sullivan East High School precincts.

But what makes the race interesting is that one of those challengers will win a seat on the commission because a third incumbent commissioner, Democrat Garth Blackburn, has decided not to seek another term in office. Blackburn is challenging Mayor Steve Godsey in Thursday’s election.

So, the top three vote-getters in this race will fill the three open 4th District seats on the commission.

* Linda Brittenham, 63, is an independent seeking her third four-year term representing the 4th district. Though she’s proud of the work the county has done in the past eight years improving relations with its cities and keeping the costs of its government down, Brittenham said there is plenty of room for improvement – particularly when it comes to educating the region’s workforce and partnering with local businesses.

Brittenham lives in Blountville and has spent the past five years working as a program coordinator with the Tennessee Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention program.

* Don Cole, 70, is an independent challenger for a seat on the commission who said he is running because he has served the county for most of his life and wants to continue that service.

Cole said he wants to work closer with the school board to ensure the school system can keep educating the county’s residents. He also wants to ensure that the county’s support staff gets full credit and recognition for the jobs they do.

Cole is a Blountville resident who spent 10 years working for the sheriff’s courtroom security, corrections and transportation units before he retired in June. Cole also spent 13½ years working for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

* Michael Fleenor, 53, is an independent challenger running for office because he is tired of seeing politicians say they are going to do something but never get it done.

Fleenor said the county school system must focus more on vocational education or preparing its students to work in such trades as auto mechanics and heating and air conditioning repair. He also said the county needs to get more road paving done and noted that his street hasn’t been paved in the past 20 years.

Fleenor has spent the past 20 years working as a plumber for the Sullivan County school system. He also has logged 18 years of service with the Sullivan County Volunteer Fire Department.

* Brett Hatcher, 40, is an independent challenger who thinks the county should be more involved in recruiting high-tech industries to the region. He said the county could accomplish that goal by focusing on its infrastructure, its skilled workforce and the fact that its residents have a very strong work ethic.

Hatcher said the tasks are important because the biggest thing the county must do is create new jobs. He also said if the county makes spending cuts to keep its budget in line, those cuts should be made across the board rather than targeted at a particular government function.

Hatcher lives in Blountville and has spent the past nine years working as a sales manager for RSC Equipment Rental in Johnson City.

* Dennis Houser, 65, is an independent seeking his fourth four-year term in office. Houser said his biggest accomplishment during the past 12 years has been improving downtown Blountville’s historic district – specifically when it comes to the work the county has done to the Old Deery Inn.

He’s also proud of the work the county has done in marketing itself as a potential tourism destination by cleaning up the Observation Knob Park and working with the Civil War Trails program and the Overmountain Men Victory Trail Association.

Houser lives in Blountville, where he manages a small family farm. He also is a retired principal with the Sullivan County school system.

* Ed Marsh, 60, is a Republican challenger who is worried that the recent tough economic times have been putting a heavy burden on taxpayers. That’s why he said it’s important to trim the county’s spending so it can lower its property tax rate.

Marsh said one program he’d like to cut is the county’s pauper burial program, which pays local funeral homes $750 to give indigent county residents a proper burial. He described the program as being “basically corporate welfare” and that the county should not be involved in providing this service to its residents.

Marsh lives in Blountville and has spent the past 30 years running the wholesale car dealership Bristol Motors.

* Bill Phillips, 67, is an independent challenger who is running for a seat on the commission because he wants to help the county’s taxpayers. He said he wants to change a lot of things the county does, but refused to specify exactly what those things were during an interview about his campaign.

Phillips lives in Blountville and has worked as a licensed surveyor for the past 30 years. He also spent 20 years working as an engineer and construction supervisor for Sprint Communications.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters also will cast ballots in contested races for several county-wide offices and in the state’s primary elections for governor and seats representing their districts in the state legislature.

gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518