Anderson County candidates speak at Oak Ridge forum

On July 14, the night before early voting began, candidates for Anderson County governmental offices came to Oak Ridge to speak and answer questions.

William "Bear" Stephenson read the questions at the event hosted by League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. Only the candidates for contested races came to the front of the room at Roane State Community College's Goff building on the Oak Ridge campus to speak.

Early voting in Anderson and Roane counties began Friday, July 15, and ends Saturday, July 30, for the Aug. 4 General Election in each county and the state Democratic and Republican primaries.

More information is available, including a sample ballot, at the Anderson County Election Commission website, www.acelect.com.

Sheriff

Incumbent Sheriff Russell Barker, a Republican, is running against Independent Rusty Carr, who has also served on the police force. Both showed up for the event and some members of the audience attending the event only stayed to listen to the sheriff's race candidates.

The two agreed on some issues. For instance, they both said they believed that staffing is difficult, with Carr and Barker citing pay and work hours. Barker also cited pay as a reason behind people leaving the department.

"We've survived 'Black Lives Matter.' We've went through the pandemic. And we've just seen some things that are unbelievable," Barker said when asked about challenges. He pointed out that Sheriff's Office now struggles with competing with the private sector for employees.

"We have to change the outlook of how we're viewed, nationally and locally," he said of law enforcement positions.

Both Barker and Carr compared the pay for employees of the Sheriff's Office unfavorably to fast food places. Barker spoke of Panda Express while Carr spoke of Sonic Drive-In.

Carr said officers were leaving "in droves," a trend he said that started in 2015. He said some officers just trained and then left for better pay.

An audience question referred back to an incident in 2021 reportedly ended with a student walkout at Clinton High School, as well as what was called an officer-involved shooting on April 14. The issue that concerned the audience member was transparency by the Sheriff's Office.

The question asked why there were no statements from the Sherriff's Office regarding those incidents and went on to ask each candidate how they'd be transparent going forward.

"There was no shooting," Barker said. Carr similarly said he did not know about any April 14 incident.

Both, however, talked about the 2021 Clinton High School issue that allegedly involved a deputy and black student at a football game, according to a story reported by WBIR-TV Channel 10.

"Transparency is a must," Carr said. "If I had been in charge, I definitely would have put out a press release, a news release and let everybody know, 'Hey this is what happened,'"

He said the public had the right to know. "I'll tell the truth even if it hurts us," he said. Carr said the Sheriff's Office can't report some details during an investigation but the public has "the right to know."

Barker said Carr was on duty the night of the incident at Clinton High School.

"We were completely 100% transparent on that," Barker said. "I think I've been the most transparent sheriff the county's ever seen," he said, adding the department will talk about anything unless there's an open investigation or lawsuit.

He also said it was erroneously reported that an officer used a Taser on a juvenile at the Clinton High incident.

"We had people from the outside who wanted to make it about race, and it simply was not," Barker said regarding the incident. "There was nothing that Rusty or any of those deputies did that night that was, one, policy violation; two, that was criminal. And it sure had nothing to do with the fact of anybody's skin tone or ethnic background."

However, Barker said there were no protests from outside people, and everyone was cleared in the investigation.

In their opening and closing statements, the two candidates talked about their visions.

"Where I live, there's a lot of homelessness. There's a lot of drugs coming into the county," Carr said. He said he would like to decrease crime through law enforcement, but pointed out education and rehabilitation efforts are also important.

"You can't just keep throwing them in jail and throwing them in jail," he said.

Carr referred back to a speech from John F. Kennedy stating "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

"It will be straight from the heart," he said with regard to his service to the county.

"Service to others is what it's all about," Barker said. "We are literally the most active administration you've ever seen in the Sheriff's Office. We're in the community. We're attending events."

He said the department had to be out talking to people such as at Isaiah House. The Isaiah 117 House provides physical and emotional support in a safe and loving home for children awaiting foster care placement, according to its Facebook page.

"Have we been perfect? Absolutely not. But we've done a really good job," Barker said, referring to the Sheriff's Office staying within the budget and out of lawsuits.

District 6

Republicans Anthony Allen and Steve Mead and Independent Catherine Denenberg are running for the two District 6 seats on Anderson County Commission. Denenberg and Mead are the incumbents. District 6 includes the Oak Ridge City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills voting precincts. Allen did not attend the event. Denenberg also did not attend because she was sick with COVID-19, Stephenson said. Anne Backus represented Denenberg and read a statement on her behalf.

"While I am not with you in person tonight, I am with you in spirit," Backus said, reading from Denenberg's statement. Denenberg's statement spoke positively of her fellow incumbent Mead.

"While we are not always on the same side, we work together to find a solution that works for District 6 and all of Anderson County," she stated.

Mead then answered audience questions. One audience member asked Mead how he would use American Rescue Plan funds.

Mead said the county could use those funds to expand access to drinking water, sewer and internet in the county. He said without internet access at home, "kids are at a huge disadvantage" when it comes to schoolwork.

The second question regarded how he is different from his opponents.

Mead said even before being a member of the County Commission, he had attended meetings.

"I don't recall him ever being in a County Commission meeting," Mead said of Allen.

Mead said he and Denenberg agreed with each other on "almost everything" on a county government level, even though they are often opposed on national politics.

The third question involved his top three concerns for the county. Mead first listed staying within budget and keeping the tax rate low. He said the county is "in good shape" and had "extra reserves." He also listed expanding internet, expanding water and natural gas services and working on county roads.

District 7

Republicans Sabra Beauchamp and Steven Poppick and Democrat Steve Verran are running for Commission's two seats from District 7, which includes the Highland View, Pine Valley and Glenwood voting precincts. Of the group, only Verran made it to the event, and neither of his opponents had anyone come to speak on their behalf. All of these candidates would be serving their first term if elected.

Similar to Mead, Verran stressed fiscal responsibility.

"I try to use a practical approach," he said. "Government is not spend as you wish."

With regard to what set him apart from his opponents, Verran said he is a Democrat, but pointed out he used to be a Republican like his opponents. He said he did not know his opponents well and stressed that he'd "work to find practical solutions" to the county's problems.

In response to the question about the American Rescue Plan, Verran, like Mead, spoke about sewer, water and internet infrastructure, pointing out that some people couldn't get jobs without internet. However, he added another idea.

"I would like to see us move forward on clean energy," he said, adding it could be an educational project for high school students, but warned that the county had to make such a project "practical and cost effective."

Regarding the most important issues, Verran said the issue depended on where in the county the residents lived. He said residents near Bull Run Fossil Plant had to deal with coal ash, whereas in Oak Ridge nuclear waste is an issue.

"We've got to find solutions to these problems, and they need to be permanent solutions," he said.

Verran also said commuting hourly workers in Clinton might worry about transportation primarily.

District 8

Republicans Myra Mansfield and Jake Martin and Independents Bob Smallridge and Phil Yager are running for District 8, which includes Emory Valley, Woodland and Hendrix Creek voting precincts. Mansfield did not attend or send anyone to speak. Smallridge and Yager are the incumbents.

Regarding what separated him from other candidates, Martin said he had "fresh eyes" and is "new to politics." He said as a city employee, he is familiar with infrastructure concerns. He works as a mechanical and electrical inspector for the city of Oak Ridge.

Smallridge stressed his experience being on County Commission for five years and spending time trying to understand the issues.

Yager also stressed experience and record. He said the county is in "the best financial shape we've had in decades" during his time working on Commission. He said experience is important, calling himself and Smallridge — "the best team in the county."

Next, the candidates spoke on the American Rescue Plan. Yager said the Plan is a "really big deal" involving internet technology (IT) upgrades, ambulances, police equipment and more. He said sewer and water are the "most pressing" problems. He said Claxton has sewer problems "for years." Separate from that, he said a church and two houses in the county aren't getting water.

Smallridge called the Plan's funds a "windfall." He said full body scanners for the jail and salary upgrades for law enforcement are two ways the Plan's funds have been used in Anderson County so far. They'd also already spent money on water and sewer evaluations and the Anderson County Senior Center. He said water, sewer, emergency vehicles, multi-factor authorizations, radios for communication and county parks are all priorities going forward.

"We got caught with our pants down with EPA on our sewer system," Martin said regarding Oak Ridge's sewers. He said sewers are a priority for the county, along with water. He also spoke of "taking care of" employees.

Regarding important issues, Yager spoke about raises for employees, specifically in the jail. He also spoke of making sure to buy materials to keep up with the cost of inflation, and working on infrastructure such as water and internet.

Smallridge listed water and sewer, employee compensation and avoiding turnover and rural services as important issues. Regarding that last one he said it was "difficult" to get ambulances to isolated areas. He also listed attracting retail and providing good education for students. Smallridge retired as Oak Ridge Schools' superintendent.

Martin listed employee recruitment and retention, infrastructure and utilities and making sure property assessment is "on level to attract businesses."

Voting locations

Anderson County residents can vote early in Oak Ridge at the Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den) at 102 Robertsville Road from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Other Anderson County early voting locations are the Clinton Community Center, 101 S. Hicks St., and Anderson Crossing Shopping Center, 3310 Andersonville Highway, Andersonville.

Roane County residents can vote early at the First Christian Church, 100 Gum Hollow Road, Oak Ridge. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Other Roane County early voting locations are Harriman Community Center, 631 Clinch St.; Kingston Community Center, 201 Patton Ferry Road; and Rockwood Community Center, 710 N. Chamberlain Ave.

Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger. Call him at (865) 441-2317, follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal and email him at bpounds@oakridger.com.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Anderson County candidates speak at Oak Ridge forum