Dick Cook
Dick Cook is running as a write-in candidate for mayor of East Ridge against incumbent Brian Williams.
Mr. Cook, the editor and publisher of East Ridge News Online, said he decided to throw his hat in the ring to the give the voters a choice in the election.
“When the candidate I was backing failed to meet the qualifying deadline and former city councilman Denny Manning withdrew from the election, that left the incumbent unopposed,” Mr. Cook said. “I wanted to give the taxpayers of this city who are unhappy with this administration a choice.”
Early voting for the municipal election begins on Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 3. Election day is Nov. 8.
In spite of increased commercial development in East Ridge, the incumbent saw fit to raise property taxes last year by some 25 percent, Mr. Cook said. Then the Mayor and Council passed a measure to increase city employees’ compensation by $600,000.
“Who is serving who here?” Mr. Cook said. “I got my property tax bill last week and I for one was not very happy.
“Our elderly citizens living on a fixed income and struggling to make ends meet during this period of inflation cannot be happy either,” he added.
The city can do better maximizing the revenue from the Border Region Act, Mr. Cook said. He stated, "Most recently, elected officials passed a measure to enrich the owners of the city’s two liquor stores by $7 million. The city passed a 36-page ordinance regulating the construction and operation of liquor stores. Fourteen different business entities entered a lottery to earn the right to build the two stores. At that time there was no mention whatsoever of providing incentives for either project."
“This giveaway was absolutely needless,” Mr. Cook said. “ We can and we must do better at managing Border Region revenue.
"That $7 million could have gone a long way in offsetting the $10 million cost of the current multi-modal project on Ringgold Road."
“I think it’s time to make a change in who sits in the mayor’s chair,” Mr. Cook said. “I believe the voters of this city agree with me, and I’m giving them a choice come election day.”