August ballot light, but diverse
By Thomas Wilson
STAR STAFF
twilson@starhq.com
A election day potpourri of city and county elections
and a state primary race await voters on the Aug. 5 county
general election and state primary ballot.
Incumbent state Rep. Jerome Cochran squares off
against former assessor of property John B. Holsclaw Sr. Holsclaw,
2165 Dave Buck Rd., Johnson City, served as the county's tax
assessor for 27 years until announcing his retirement in February
of 2003. Cochran, 117 Creola Way, Johnson City, filed his
candidacy papers for re-election in March. He represents the
4th District in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Carter County voters will cast their ballots
for state primary and county general election offices Aug.
5, 2004. The two-week early voting period begins July 16 and
runs through July 30. The state primary will be held Tuesday,
Aug. 5, to select party nominees for the Nov. 2 general election.
In a special city election, Bill J. Carter, 708
N. Pine St., faces challenger Judy Donley, 1207 Erie Lane
for a two-year term to Elizabethton City Council. Carter was
appointed to council in April of 2003 to serve out the term
of Diane Morris who passed away in February of last year.
Interim Assessor of Property Gerald Holly hopes
to shed the "interim" label from his title after the August
election. Holly easily won the county Republican primary in
February besting Ted Weaver and George Fortner. Holly was
appointed by the Carter County Commission to replace Holsclaw
in April of 2003. He had previously served as the deputy assessor.
He faces no Democratic challenger in August although
Fortner has turned in paperwork to be a write-in candidate.
The Tennessee General Assembly amended election
laws pertaining to write-in candidates last year. To gain
legitimate status as a write-in candidate, a citizen must
fill out a certification of candidacy no later than 20 days
before the election day. The law applies to all local and
state offices.
Four seats for the Carter County School Board
will be on the county election ballot. In the county's 1st
Educational District, Dale Colbaugh, 124 Creekbank Rd., and
Wayne Pierce, 123 Low Gap Rd., will face off for the seat
presently held by Ernest "Gebe" Ritchie.
Incumbent board members Daniel Holder, 130 Beryl
Blevins Rd., representing the 4th District and Bobby McClain,
814 Deerfield Lane, Hampton, representing the 6th District
are running unopposed.
No candidates have filed to run for the 8th District.
Sitting board member Steve Chambers opted not to seek another
term. If no write-in candidate qualifies by the July 16 deadline,
the school board will likely be faced with appointing a board
member. The 8th District seat would be back on the state and
federal election ballot on Nov. 2.
