Stanley vs. Vanover: Sullivan mayoral race to be 2-way, all-Republican affair

BLOUNTVILLE — The race for Sullivan County mayor is likely be decided in a two-way Republican primary contest in May between county Board of Education member Angie Stanley and County Commissioner Zane Vanover. That's because the August general election for Northeast Tennessee's most populous county is highly unlikely to have any other name on ballot opposing the GOP primary winner. And Republican County Commissioner Joe Carr of Kingsport filed his qualifying petition with the county Election Commission for District 9 by Thursday's noon deadline, making for a three-way Republican primary race for two seats among Carr, incumbent Joe McMurray and Kingsport school board member Todd Golden. The other seat had been held by Vanover, who did not seek re-election to the commission to run for mayor. No Democrats or independents filed in either of those races. Carr had faced charges of sexual battery and public intoxication in North Carolina, but those charges were dropped, according to court records in Buncombe County. In an Asheville incident, he was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a woman in a bar. The voluntary dismissal, in a deal reached between the defense and prosecutor, also canceled Carr's March 19 court date. Elsewhere on the ballot, Bob Harshbarger Jr. of Kingsport is among three Republican candidates seeking three seats in District 6, the trio all but assured of victory. He is the husband of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-1st, and father of state Sen. Bobby Harshbarger, R-Kingsport. President Donald Trump in November pardoned Bob Harshbarger Jr. of charges of distributing a misbranded cancer drug and one count of health care fraud, according to federal government infomration from 2013. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $848,504 and a $25,000 criminal fine, in addition to forfeiting $425,000 in cash. Harshbarger was doing business as American Inhalation Medication Specialists Inc. In District 6, Incumbent Daniel Horne did not pick up a petition, while incumbent Jessica Means picked up but did not file. She has filed to run in the Tennessee GOP primary in August against incumbent state Rep. John Crawford, R-Kingsport. Earlier for the District 6 commission race, Todd McKinley, in the middle of a four-year term on the county school board, picked up but did not file by Thursday. Tennessee law prohibits serving as a county school board member and county commissioner at the same time, but it is unclear as to whether a county school board member in the middle of a term can run for and serve as a county commissioner. It happened once before in Sullivan County, and District Attorney General Barry Staubus filed a lawsuit attempting to force Mark Ireson to resign his school board seat after being elected to the commission as sitting school board member. Shortly before the matter was to have gone to trial, however, Ireson resigned from the school board, so no ruling was made 4 because the case was dismissed. Also, two Kingsport school board members are running for commissioner seats, as listed below. That is allowed because the city charter doesn't specificallly prohibit such dual service; Kingsport Alderwoman Colette George served on the city board and the county governing body. Finally, in the District 4 school board race, incumbent Michael Hughes in the primary faces a challenge from former school board member and former commissioner Todd Broughton, who lives in Bloomingdale in western Sullivan County, far from the eastern Sullivan County school board district. Broughton and county Administrator of Elections Jason Booher said Boughton can run as long as he moves into the district by the August election day, which Hughes doesn't believe is legal, although Broughton has said he and his wife plan to buy a home in the district by the August election day. MAYORAL RACE In the mayor's race, Stanley and Vanover were the only two candidates who filed petitions for mayor in the May 5 GOP primary. Barry Brickey, public education and information officer for the Kingsport Fire Department, announced Wednesday he was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Vanover. Ronald Lee Gilliam and Ilda Perna picked up but did not file by the noon Thursday deadline. Candidates for the May 5 party primaries and Aug. 4 general election have until noon Thursday, Feb. 26, to withdraw. Unless a write-in candidate emerges, the winner of the May mayoral primary is all but assured to become the next mayor of Northeast Tennessee's most populous county. Stanley, a former county commissioner who narrowly lost the 2022 mayoral GOP primary to Richard Venable, a veteran office holder. The former state representative and former Sullivan County GOP chairman who once sought the Northeast Tennessee U.S. House seat is not seeking re-election as mayor this year after a political history dating back to the 1980s, when he chaired the county GOP. COMMISSION RACES BY DISTRICT District 1, one seat: Republican Don Thompson and Terry Marek will square off with independent Hunter Woodall in August. This is the only commission seat with a Democratic contender. Republican incumbent David Hayes did not seek re-election. District 2, three seats: Republican incumbent David Akard, Jeff Broyles, former school administrator Kim Harvey and former commissioner Mark Vance will seek three seats in May, with no Democratic or independent opposition in August. Incumbents Cheryl Harvey, wife of Kim Harvey, and Barry Hopper, appointed to fill a vacancy after a resignation, did not pick up a petition. District 3, one seat: Republican incumbent Andrew Cross filed and has no competition at all. District 4, three seats: This is the second most crowded race among 11 commission districts with seven candidates filed. Incumbents Michael Cole, Joyce Neal Crosswhite and Tony Leonard and challengers Tracy Haraz, Josh Hayes and Richard Hicks are running in May, and independent Matt Dollar, an Elvis performer, is to run in the August general election along with the three GOP primary winners. District 5, two seats: Incumbents Hershel Glover and Dwight King and newcomer Ty Boomershine, a former county sheriff's deputy and former county teacher, will square off in the GOP primary. No Democrat or indpendent filed. District 6, three seats: See above. District 7, two seats: incumbents Sam Jones and Travis Ward will face Republican primary challengers Jimmy Bowser and Stacy Vaughn, with no Democratic or independent filers. District 8, two seats: incumbents Darlene Calton and Mark Ireson filed for re-election, and GOP challengers Stanley Hodges and Bill Summer filed. Independent Larry Mullinex will join the two Republican winners on the August general election ballot. District 9: two seats: See above. District 10: two seats: incumbent Larry Crawford, father of Rep. John Crawford, and challengers Linda Buckles, state Executive Committee member for the Tennessee GOP, Lakie Derrick, an employee of the Turning Point USA organization, and Dominick Kasmauskas. District 11: two seats: This is the most-crowded race with eight candidates filed. incumbent John Gardner, Hunter Locke and Archie Pierce filed as Republicans, as did challengers Phillip Marshall, a Kingsport dentist and school board member, and Zaiden Page. Independents filed were Joshua French, Travis Sampson and Zac Thomas. OTHER RACES Other races with opposition are sheriff, where incumbent Republican Jeff Cassidy filed, as did independent Jamie Free; and county attorney, where Republish Josh Rose and independent C. Christopher Raines III filed. Incumbent Dan Street did not seek re-election. In contrast, newcomer Craig Ramey is the sole filer for commissioner of highway. Incumbent Scott Murray did not seek re-election. In Kingsport, incumbent at-large school board members Brandon Fletcher and Melissa Woods, school board vice presdident, filed as did Sara Cassidy in the GOP primary. Derrick Browder filed as an independent. the Board of Mayor and Aldermen's filing deadline is next month because those are non-partisan positions that appear only on a general election ballot. Unopposed county office holders seeking re-election as Republicans are Trustee Angela Taylor, County Clerk Teresa Jacobs, Register of Deeds Sheena Ramsey Tinsley and county school board member and Chairman Matthew Price, a county sheriff's detective.