Campaign Notebook: Early voting continues

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Early voting continues

Early voting in the Aug. 7 primary continues at the following locations:

• Hamilton County Election Commission, 700 River Terminal Road, off Amnicola Highway. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Brainerd Recreation Center, 1010 N. Moore Road, next to Brainerd High School. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Eastwood Church, 4300 Ooltewah-Ringgold Road. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Northgate Mall, near Applebee's. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.


3rd District forum today

Republicans Chuck Fleischmann and Weston Wamp and Democrat Mary Headrick will meet voters and participate in a moderated forum today.

The reception is at 5:30 p.m. in the UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. The forum will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Auditorium.

Sponsors are the Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute and the UTC departments of political science and sociology.


Democrats hold board meeting

The Hamilton County Democratic Party Board of Directors will hold its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the HCDP headquarters, 4300 N. Access Road. All Democrats are welcome and encouraged to attend.


Carr: Alexander avoids Core

Republican U.S. Senate challenger Joe Carr has slammed incumbent Lamar Alexander for not taking a stand against the Common Core curriculum in an new TV ad.

In a campaign news release, Carr said the ad "leaves out the most important education issue to Tennessee voters: Common Core.

"If Senator Alexander were a true conservative, he would not hesitate to say 'I am opposed to Common Core' just as I have," Carr said.


Adams hits Ball on flat tax plan

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Terry Adams says primary opponent Gordon Ball's support for a 15 percent flat tax "would result in Ball seeing his marginal tax rate cut 62 percent and the poorest Americans would see their tax rate increase 50 percent."

"It's not the first time a multimillionaire proposed a tax cut for himself but we don't see it often in the Democratic Party," Adams said in a news release. The release said that to balance the budget after replacing the current tax code with a 15 percent flat tax, Ball would "gut Medicare, and cut education grants, housing assistance, health-related research, veterans' benefits, homeland security, the federal justice system and environmental protection."

Adams said he wants to "protect the social safety net" by closing tax loopholes on "corporations and the super wealthy" and raising the ceiling on income subject to Social Security taxes.


Candidates get builders' nod

Patsy Hazlewood, Republican candidate for the state House District 27 seat, and Randy Fairbanks, Republican nominee for Hamilton County Commission District 1, have been endorsed by the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga.

"We are fortunate to have such a capable and qualified candidate," said Teresa Groves, the home builders executive officer. "Mrs. Hazlewood has the experience and track record to bring economic development to this region as the representative for District 27. She will be a leader who understands business and how business works."

Hazlewood also has been endorsed by Tom McCullough and Charlie White, two of her former opponents in the race.

Of Fairbanks, Groves said, "Randy has owned and managed a successful accounting business for nearly 30 years and continues to have an active presence in the community and involvement in various initiatives. We believe his experience and views are more in line with the goals we have as an organization."


CGAT backs Tommy Crangle

Citizens for Government Accountability & Transparency has endorsed Republican Tommy Crangle for the 27th District state House seat.

"Mr. Crangle is the only candidate in the race who has consistently espoused and represented the values of fiscal conservatism, strict adherence to the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions and support of free markets," CGAT President Mark West said in a news release.

Tennessee House District 27 includes Soddy- Daisy, Falling Water, Red Bank, Mowbray, Signal and Lookout mountains, Lookout Valley and Walden.


Flinn presses border control

George Flinn, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, compared incumbent Lamar Alexander to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in being out of touch with what he says is a crisis at the nation's border.

"Our borders are wide open. I have been to McAllen, Texas, stood on the open border and seen the remnants of the thousands of illegal immigrants coming into our country everyday. The border is not secure and we must do something about it now," Flinn said in a news release.

"Lamar Alexander, like Sen. Reid, is out-of touch with the people. Tennessee deserves someone representing them in Washington who will stand up and fight to bring clarity and resolve, not cover their eyes and hope that the issue goes away."


Police group favors Turner

Sabrena Turner, Republican nominee for the District 7 seat on the Hamilton County Commission, has been endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Police Officers No. 73.

"We feel that Sabrena will represent our members well and trust her integrity in the office she seeks," local IBPO president Rob Simmons said in a statement from Turner's campaign.

Turner said her son is a Hamilton County deputy. "As commissioner, I will work to ensure that the safety needs of our schools and neighborhoods remain at the forefront while advocating for a stronger relationship between the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department and the Chattanooga Police Department," she said in the release.


Dean hits drug registry pace

Vince Dean, Republican nominee for Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk, said the office's compliance with the state's drug-offender registry is lagging.

He said state law requires that convicted drug offenders must be reported to a TBI database but the office is not keeping up.

"Currently there have been only 60 convictions listed in the Drug Offender Registry for Hamilton County since the database was first active, despite Hamilton County consistently ranking among the top five counties in Tennessee for meth production," Dean said in a news release.

"Our law enforcement officers and our judges cannot work effectively with incomplete information," Vince Dean said. "As Criminal Court clerk, I will update this registry according to Tennessee law to help ensure sentencing in our county is accurate and criminals are properly identified."


Tidwell touts efficiencies

Gwen Tidwell, the Democratic incumbent for Criminal Court clerk, said in a news release her 20 years in office have enhanced its efficiency and effectiveness.

Among other benefits, she said in a news release, some $6 million in staff salaries have been fully covered in the last 15 fiscal years from fees charged in criminal cases. No county tax money has been used for salaries in that time, she said.

And she early on turned to technology so staff could more efficiently handle the workload of maintaining files for the criminal courts, she said. Tidwell said she was the first clerk to set up a delinquent collections department, one that brought in more than $70 million in fees for the state and local governments.

"Our efforts to date have not only saved millions of tax dollars from being spent in my office, but also resulted in tens of millions of dollars being collected for the use in many other offices," she said.


Howell endorsed by Meigs mayor

Dan Howell, Republican candidate for state House District 22, has been endorsed by Meigs County Mayor Garland Lankford.

"He's one of the finest men I know, and his life experience, integrity and character make him the ideal person to represent us in Nashville," Lankford said in a news release.

District 22 covers parts of Bradley County, and all of Polk and Meigs counties.

Send items for Campaign Notebook to Louie Brogdon, lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, or Judy Walton, jwalton@times freepress.com.

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