Drugs and the jail led the topics of discussion Monday night during a candidate forum hosted by the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce at Walters State Community College.
A total of 24 candidates in contested races spoke for three minutes each about issues. Those running included contested races for sheriff, trustee and county commission.
Ernie Burzell, candidate for sheriff, attacked Sheriff Esco Jarnagin, saying, “There is no leadership at the top.”
“You have a sheriff never in the office, never available to the officers, never available to the public,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Jarnagin, after the forum, said he chose not to respond to the allegations.
“I don’t react to his actions,” Jarnagin said. “I know who I am.”
Jarnagin during his three-minute speech instead chose to focus on the things the department has accomplished over the last four years, including more than 50 meth labs destroyed, more than 1,500 drug-related arrests and more than 600 drunk driving arrests over the last several years.
He also talked about mutual aid agreements with other law enforcement agencies to fight drugs.
“We will give 100 percent in fighting the drug problem in Hamblen County,” he said.
Burzell, during his speech, also said there needed to be added focus on school safety and making sure children are safe.
“It’s a major issue to me, taking care of our kids,” he said. “Hopefully it won’t ever happen, but you never know when it’s going to.”
Another contested race includes the District 5 race between County Commission Chairman Louis “Doe” Jarvis and former Morristown City Councilman Gene Brooks.
Jarvis told the audience that finances is the most pressing issue for the county.
“Our most pressing issue is finances,” he said. “Everything we talk to tonight is geared around money. It takes money to fight the drugs. It takes money to expand the school system. It takes money to build a new jail. But our resources are limited.”
Jarvis said the county has to continue to find additional revenue while making sure expenses are kept in check.
Brooks, his opponent, concentrated on saying he would be against building a new jail that would include court rooms and offices.
“I’m going to vote to keep the justice center as it is,” he said. “We have nice courtrooms there, the sheriff has a nice office there. It’s all really nice. Let’s go to the property next door that we already bought and just build jail cells.”
The majority of candidates in the forum said going through their districts the No. 1 problem they consistently heard about is a rampant drug problem within the county. The candidates also spoke about the need to make sure the education system keeps up with technology and is improved. Candidates all agreed that improving the education system will also improve job growth.
For the trustee’s race, current Trustee John Baskette and challenger Stan Eversole spoke. A third candidate for the office, Aaron Rice, did not attend the event because of a prior engagement.
Baskette told the audience that his office handled more than $398 million this past year alone. He told the audience that his office is the “window of the county” and would continue to be a welcoming place under his leadership. He said his office is open at all times.
“We work for the people,” he said. “We’re not the trustee, that’s not a title or a position. I’m a county employee.”
Eversole spoke about his own past of being a small business owner and handling his own business’s budget. He said the most important responsibility for the trustee is making sure the office honorable and beyond reproach.
“It’s having the integrity to treat the money as if it’s your own,” he said.
To see video coverage of all candidates who spoke during the candidate forum, go to CitizenTribune.com and click on the Forum 2018 link at the top of the page
