Today is Election Day for municipal races in Bristol, Tenn., and Bluff City, Tenn.
There are candidates running in four districts for the Board of Education, and voters can select one candidate in each district. For City Council, voters choose candidates in the district in which they live.
This newspaper’s three-member editorial board – Opinion Page Editor Suzanne Tate, Publisher Carl Esposito and Managing Editor J. Todd Foster – interviewed and endorsed candidates in all the contested races in Bristol, Tenn.
To recap: For City Council, we endorsed Margaret Feierabend over challenger Danny Marshall in the South District. Feierabend has substantial experience on council and in other civic pursuits over the newcomer Marshall.
We chose David Shumaker over Steven Willinger in the West District. Shumaker is the longest-serving member of council and has helped develop important city initiatives like restoring the city train station, creating the Rhythm & Roots music festival and developing the Sullivan County Networks business initiative. Willinger is a business-savvy candidate and a formidable opponent, but we sided with the incumbent Shumaker.
Mayor Joel Staton is running unopposed in the East District.
For Board of Education, we endorsed Kelly I. Buskell III over Aaron Brooks in the First District. Both candidates are impressive, but we gave the edge to Buskell who has been readying for this run for three years and has made it a priority to become an expert on a variety of topics that affect students, teachers and parents.
In the Third District, Nelson Pyle is running unopposed. Pyle, a southern Illinois native, is a career educator and school administrator who has worked in Illinois and Tennessee.
In the Fourth District we endorsed incumbent Anthony “Tony” Turner over challenger Jason Rush. Both candidates are highly qualified, but we gave the nod to the incumbent Turner, who has two years of experience on the board and whose strengths lie in aligning educational standards with technology.
In the Fifth District, incumbent Gwendolyn H. Ellis is running unopposed. Ellis previously worked in sales and advertising in North Carolina and South Carolina. She has been a self-described homemaker since 1993.
We urge you to vote today. If you want more information on any of the candidates, you can read detailed profiles and questionnaires the Bristol, Tenn., candidates completed. Visit TriCities.com, keyword “city election.”
Polls are open today from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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