County School Board member Rhonda Thurman said she plans to campaign door to door against two fellow board members who are running for re-election.
She said she will try to help UTC professor Joe Dumas unseat Chip Baker of Signal Mountain and help Gregg Juster defeat Debra Matthews of Alton Park.
Mrs. Thurman, who is unopposed in District 1, held a joint news conference and rally on Thursday afternoon along with Mr. Dumas and Mr. Juster, who are running as a team.
Noticeably absent from the event was District 7 candidate Michael Dzik, who first said he was part of the team, then backed out after he said he received pressure.
Mrs. Thurman said she now favors Kevin Burke for the District 7 seat. She said Mr. Burke had contacted the group about joining the team, but there were concerns about his young age.
But she said, "I like Kevin. He thinks a whole lot like we do."
Mr. Burke on Friday denied he ever sought to join the Team.
He said, "I met with Tim Price and Rhonda Thurman before I announced my candidacy for school board. I was told by several people (including one elected official and another person who saw her at a sheriff's meeting) that I should contact Rhonda to meet with her and tell her about my campaign and my platform.
"Never did I ask about joining a 'team.' With that said, I welcome other people's support, but it should be clear that I never inquired about joining a team. As I stated yesterday, my platform was made public at the end of March, and has not changed since. My 'team' are the people of District 7.
"I did meet with Rhonda and Tim, told them what I thought on certain issues, and that was that. At that point, I was told they had formed a 'group,' but was not aware of any 'team.' I've met with 50+ people about running for this position. None of those meetings were to inquire about joining a 'team.'"
Mrs. Thurman on Friday said, "Kevin Burke called me to meet and talk about his running for school board. He did not contact me to interview for the 'team.' We had not discussed the 'team' concept at that time."
Mrs. Thurman said the third candidate, Linda Mosley, might be beholden to her employer, First Tennessee Bank.
Mrs. Thurman said the switch-over by Mr. Dzik disappointed her, especially when she said he did not call the group to discuss it first.
She said those in elected office "have to be willing to stick by their core beliefs and not be called off by those who donate money."
Mrs. Thurman said she plans to go on the campaign trail in Red Bank and Falling Water for Mr. Dumas and work for Mr. Juster in the Highway 58 area, where she works as a beautician.