The recent and upcoming elections will afford the voters a chance to once again voice their choices for elected office in Hamilton County. One specific race, the District 8 seat for Hamilton County Commission, is one of those choices the voters will have the opportunity to elect someone who has a proven record of leadership.
Kenny Smith, former Hamilton County School Board chairman, is also responsible for training hundreds of individuals through the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee program, graduating them to begin a lifetime of a skilled trade that means decent wages for them and their family.
Kenny is a member of the Southeast Tennessee Workforce Investment Board, National Electrical Training Directors Association, and city of Chattanooga Construction Appeals Board. He is the chairman of the city of Chattanooga Board of Electrical Examiners.
Citizens of a community can talk about bringing businesses with decent wages to their town until they are blue in the face, but without skilled workers to fill a lot of those positions, it is a futile battle. Kenny has worked to train these individuals for over 17 years and because of that Chattanooga and Hamilton County's trained work force has thrived.
Though I don't live in District 8 I can support Kenny in other ways to help get his message out to the voters. Though I worked for a particular party other than the party Kenny belongs to for nearly 20 years, I can still encourage my friends on the Republican side to take a good look at Kenny's record of achievement, his genuine concern to help make Hamilton County a better place for all of us and ask them to consider supporting Kenny for District 8 county commissioner.
Someone once said, "Character is what you do when nobody is looking." How true that is when you go to vote in the upcoming August election. No one will be looking over your shoulder to force you to vote straight party lines if you feel that Kenny Smith would be an asset to the County Commission.
I encourage all of my friends, from all parties, to take a look at Kenny Smith and what he has done for Hamilton County and with your help, what he can continue to do for Hamilton County in the future.
Rick Tucker
Hixson