Where I Stand is a new series inspired by the Chattanooga Stand survey. Today’s guest author is Alli Crumley, stay-at-home mom and blogger. Alli has lived in the Chattanooga area for 10 years and resides with her family in St. Elmo.
First, when I think of Chattanooga Stand, all I can think about is the R.E.M. song.
“Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven’t before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t before”
Is that on purpose? Did the fine folks at Stand have R.E.M. on repeat on their iPods? I think we will never know.
But having R.E.M. on the brain is rather appropriate for me. Three years ago, I did stop and think about the place I was living. Three years ago, I realized the Chattanooga area had been my home for seven years. As someone who moved around a lot during the growing up years, it was pretty significant to me to realize I had lived here the longest I have lived in any one place my whole life. Somehow Chattanooga became my hometown. And I was really happy about it.
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Cecil “Strat” Parrott, a local graphic designer who picked up qualifying papers for the 2009 mayoral election, announced he is no longer seeking the post and endorsed candidate Joe Lance. In a recent message to his campaign’s Facebook group, Strat said:
“Thanks to all of my potential constituents and skeptics for your support. I hope you will support Joe Lance in his run for mayor.”
In a brief statement to Chattarati, Mr. Parrott elaborated:
“Joe is well-versed in local politics and his blogging is proof of that. He takes the perspective of citizenship rather than seeking political power for its own sake, and I feel his views align with mine that the office of mayor should always be about the constituents and the city and not personal gain.”
TennesseeTicket.com founder and former Pulse and Chattarati contributor Joe Lance has just picked up qualifying papers to enter the Chattanooga mayoral race. In a brief statement, Joe explains his decision:
“After much observation and careful consideration, I have decided that the best way to encourage my fellow citizens to get involved in our local government is by asking them to allow me the honor of serving them as our next Mayor. I love the city of Chattanooga and believe that the best way to build on its recent successes, and to make this an even greater city for all of its residents and visitors, is to involve as many willing participants as possible in defining what we’re doing next—and in doing it.
The opportunities are many more than one person can manage alone, and I look forward to working toward them together.”
We’ll have more information as it becomes available.
Hello, citizens! Hopefully you are as excited as I am about the hope and change coming to America as a result of the recent presidential election. Rest assured, I’ll be working hard to continue bringing those very things to our great city. The Volkswagen announcement was not the end, but just the beginning of Chattanooga’s bright future. Before that future can begin, we must turn our attention to the upcoming municipal elections.
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Oh, and reading would help. More on that in a minute.
My Election Day experience did not involve long lines, cantankerous voting machines, or provisional ballots. I was stationed at the Brainerd Recreation Complex (aka “the Center”), which is one of three early voting locations in Hamilton County. However, it is not an Election Day polling place, although it has been used as one in the recent past.
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Today, the Chattanooga Times Free Press announced that in Saturday’s edition, they will be including a special reprint of Wednesday’s front-page declaring Barack Obama as the next president. It’s your final chance to secure yourself a copy of something you may or may not frame before you find it years from now in the garage.
Tuesday night, 75 Chattanooga-area residents, most somehow connected via Twitter, gathered for ChattUp ‘08. We came together to count the votes and socialize face-to-face, many for the first time, in the loft-style digs of Coptix. We congregated around televisions and projector screens, typed feverishly on (mostly) Apple laptops and shared a few drinks. And as our online and offline connections intertwined throughout the evening, we witnessed history together.
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As we anxiously await the results of today’s elections, let’s veer off track just a bit and take a look at whose cash helped fuel the Presidential race. FundRace 2008 is a great mashup presented by the Huffington Post, using data and systems from the Federal Election Commission, Eyebeam, and Google Maps. According to their data, donors listing themselves as residents of Chattanooga gave $495,403 to Presidential candidates in this election cycle, with 249 people giving $335,316 to Republicans and 207 people giving $160,087 to Democrats. With the FundRace widget, you can search donor data by name or location. Have fun, and let us know what you find…
Chattanooga Election Day Freebies
In case exercising your right to vote isn’t reward enough…
- Starbucks: Free 12oz. drip coffee
- Krispy Kreme: Free star-shaped doughnuts
- Ben & Jerry’s: Free ice cream scoops between 3pm and 5pm
- Chattanooga Hot Dog Company (Market & 12th): Free hot dogs until 3pm
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