Bristol, Tenn. City Council Candidate: Joel Staton

Age: 57

Address: 922 Beechwood Drive, Bristol, Tenn.

Daytime telephone number:   423-764-7501

Evening phone number:   423-764-7501
E-mail address: none given

Party affiliation:   none given

Office you are seeking: Bristol Tennessee City Council, east district

Please answer the following questions about your background:

What is your educational background, including the highest degree you attained (high school, college, advanced degree) and the year it was attained?

Bachelor of science, East Tennessee State University, 1978

What is your professional background, including your present employer and job description? What other positions have you held in the past? If you are retired, please describe your most recent employment.

Mechanic for 31 years with Bristol Tennessee Essential Services; now retired.

Are you married? If so, please list your spouse’s name, occupation and any elected offices they hold or have held in the past.

Peg Tanksley Staton, a family nurse practitioner

Do you have children? If so, how many and what are their ages?

One son, who is 31 years old.

Do you presently hold an elected or appointed office or have you held one in the past? Please list all elected or appointed posts and the years you were in office.

Currently the mayor of Bristol, Tenn.

Have you ever been an officer in a political party, worked in a campaign or been a delegate to a political convention? If yes, please provide
details and names of the candidates for whom you worked.

No

How long have you lived in the area? If you have lived elsewhere, where have you lived and for how long?

I have lived in the area for 52 years; I also lived in New York for five years.

Who are your three biggest campaign contributors? How much money have you raised in your campaign? Have you taken any special interest or PAC money? How much money do you expect to spend in your campaign?

Have not taken any outside money. Does not expect to spend anything on the campaign.

Do you volunteer your time or give money to local causes? If so, please list them.

Appalachian Service Project; Project Crossroads; Weed ‘n Seed.

Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime as an adult? If yes, please give jurisdiction and details.

No.

Have you ever filed bankruptcy? If yes, please explain.

No.

Have you ever served in the military? If yes, please provide details, including branch of service, highest rank, years of service and date and terms of discharge.

No.

Have you or your business ever been the subject of a lawsuit, lien or foreclosure? If yes, please explain.

No.

What ties do you have to any business or organization that could profit from action as a city council member? Please explain your plan to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest.

None.

Do you have personal or business relationships with other council members that might cause a conflict of interest?

No.

Please answer the following questions about issues facing the city.

What makes you the best candidate for city council?

Honesty.
What is the best thing about Bristol, Tenn.? What is the worst thing?

The best thing: It’s people. There are no bad things.

Bristol Exide is cutting its workforce by 567 people and other large employers have had large layoffs. What will you do as a council member to attract more employers to Bristol that will bring better paying jobs?

Work together with Sullivan County, Tenn., NETWORKS.

Bristol , Tenn., has had two property tax increases to fund school construction and is considering another 8 cent increase. This would be the third increase in three years. Should the city make other budget cuts to offset these increases? If so, what should they include?

We should make other cuts. Projects that we have not started yet.

For incumbents: What have you personally done to increase the number of jobs in Bristol?

No council member should claim they have done this on their own.

Aside from school construction, what other capital improvement projects in the city are important to you and how will you fund them?

The most important thing right now is keeping people employed, not projects.