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Meet the Hamilton County Candidates: U.S. House TN 3rd District Democrats & More

  Just before Hamilton County’s August 4 elections, we’re speaking with Democratic primary candidates for Tennessee's3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives: Michael Friedman, George Ryan Love and Melody Shekari. We also spoke with Mark Siedlecki, a Democrat running against Republican Marty Haynes in the race to be the new Hamilton County Assessor of Property. (Note that this is not a primary—this is part of the general election on everyone’s ballots. Haynes did not respond to WUTC’s request for an interview.)

Finally, we spoke with Adam Ghassemi, Director of Communications for the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, about the free GoVoteTN app.

Who you’re able to vote for August 4 depends on where you live in Hamilton County, and whether you select a Democratic, Republican or General-Only ballot.

The GoVoteTN app can help you explore your potential choices. It’s available for free from iTunes, Google Play and on the Web.

Enter your name or address into the app, and you’ll be able to see both your sample ballot and polling location. You can pick from a sample Democratic, Republican or General-Only ballot customized for you.

Note, however, that the app will show you only the candidates’ names and party affiliations. It won’t tell you anything about who the candidates are, which ones are incumbents, or what issues concern them most.

MORE WUTC 88.1 FM CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS

We’ve spoken with many of the candidates potentially on your ballot, asking them about their backgrounds, which issues they believe are most important, and how they’d address those issues.

On Monday, we spoke with two Republicans facing off for the nomination in Tennessee House of Representatives District 29: incumbent Mike Carter and newcomer Ethan White. We also spoke with three Democrats vying for the nomination in District 10 of the Tennessee State Senate: Ty O’Grady, Khristy Wilkinson and Nick Wilkinson (no relation.)

On Tuesday, WUTC spoke with Republican primary candidates for Tennessee's3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent Chuck Fleischmann, challenger Allan Levene, and newcomer Geoffery Suhmer Smith all joined us to talk about their qualifications and the issues they believe are facing the district. We also spoke with two Democratic candidates vying for the nomination to represent District 28 in the Tennessee House of Representatives:incumbent JoAnne Favors and challenger Dennis Clark.

We were unable to speak with candidates in school board elections and other races due to time constraints—but you can get more information by visiting Ballotpedia.

HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

David Martin joined us recently to talk about the election, and he pointed out something interesting: local liberal and conservative opinion columnists agreeing on a slate of school board candidates.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has two different editorial pages—one liberal-leaning, one conservative—and both sides are calling for a school board shakeup.

In District 1, incumbent Rhonda Thurman faces Jason Moses and Patti Skates.

In District 2, incumbent Jonathan R. Welch faces Kathy Lennon.

In District 4, incumbent George E. Ricks faces Montrell Besley, Tiffanie Robinson and Annette L. Thompson.

In District 7, incumbent Donna M. Horn faces Joe Wingate.

(Only Districts 1, 2, 4 and 7 are on the ballot August 4.)

The liberal Times editorial page endorsed Patti Skates, Tiffanie Robinson and Joe Wingate over the incumbents in those races. The conservative Free Press agreed.

RETAIN OR REPLACE JUDGES?

Three Tennessee State Supreme Court judges are on the ballot, and voters will have the opportunity to either keep or replace Jeffrey Bivins, Holly Kirby and Roger Page. The vast majority of the Tennessee Bar Association’s members recommend retaining all three. (Should you check the “replace” box, you won’t actually get to choose a replacement. The Tennessean has more information about that.)

Similarly, seven state Court of Appeals judges will be either retained or replaced:

Court of Appeals, Western Section: Kenny Armstrong, Brandon O. Gibson, Arnold B. Goldin

Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Section: Robert H. Montgomery Jr.

Court of Criminal Appeals, Middle Section: Timothy L. Easter, Robert L. Holloway Jr.

Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Section: J. Ross Dyer

Many of those judges’ biographies are on TNCourts.gov.

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