{"age":45,"biography":"Montrell Besley is a Democrat running for Hamilton County Commission District 11 in Tennessee [3]. He is a Chattanooga native and resident of the Alton Park community [10]. Besley holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Health and Human Performance and a Master\u2019s degree in Public and Community Health from Austin Peay State University [4]. His professional background includes serving as a health and physical education teacher at Woodmore Elementary School since August 2015 [1]. He has also worked as the director of Community Engagement at Chattanooga Preparatory School, a position he held as of 2020 [9]. Additionally, Besley is a small business owner who launched Chattanooga Rolling Video Games, a mobile video gaming theater service [11].\n\nBesley\u2019s political career began with a run for the Hamilton County Board of Education District 4 seat in 2016. He lost that general election to Tiffanie Robinson, receiving 23.89% of the vote [1]. In 2022, Besley launched a campaign for the newly created Hamilton County Commission District 11 seat following redistricting [3]. The district includes areas such as Lookout Mountain and Alton Park [3]. He finished third in the Democratic primary for that seat [8].\n\nIn the current cycle, Besley is seeking re-election to Hamilton County Commission District 11. He previously faced Republican incumbent Joe Graham in a general election rematch four years ago, losing by 20 votes [5]. Besley is now challenging Graham again in the upcoming election [5].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Montrell Besley - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Montrell_Besley)\n- [2] [Hamilton County School District elections (2016) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Hamilton_County_School_District_elections_(2016))\n- [3] [Montrell Besley Seeks New County Commission District 11 Seat - Chattanoogan.com](https://www.chattanoogan.com/2021/12/10/439836/Montrell-Besley-Seeks-New-County.aspx)\n- [4] [Montrell Besley running in new District 11 Hamilton County Commission seat | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2022/jan/13/montrell-besley/561400/)\n- [5] [Besley set to challenge Graham in rematch for Hamilton County Commission seat | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/feb/15/besley-set-to-challenge-graham-in-rematch-for/)\n- [7] [Chattanooga Times announces Hamilton County Board of Education endorsements | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2016/jul/10/sohn-school-board-needs-newer-younger-faces/)\n- [8] [Four Hamilton County Commission races decided in primary election | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/may/04/four-hamiltcounty-commissiraces-decided-prima/)\n- [9] [Boys & Girls Clubs Of Chattanooga Names Montrell Besley And Jay Morgan To Board Of Directors - Chattanoogan.com](https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/3/5/405199/Boys--Girls-Clubs-Of-Chattanooga-Names.aspx)\n- [10] [Montrell Besley Kicks Off Campaign For School Board - Chattanoogan.com](https://www.chattanoogan.com/2016/4/29/323199/Montrell-Besley-Kicks-Off-Campaign-For.aspx)\n- [11] [Entrepreneur Spotlight: Montrell Besley](https://launchchattanooga.org/examples/entrepreneur/34)\n- [12] [Opinion: Voter turnout will be key in District 11 Hamilton County Commission, school board races | Chattanooga Times Free Press](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/freepress/story/2022/jun/16/opinion-voter-turnout-will-be-key-district-11/571023/)","birthdate":"Sun, 12 Apr 1981 00:00:00 GMT","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"County Commission District 11"}],"cf_filings":[{"county":"hamilton","displayname":"Besley, Montrell","documents":[{"datesubmitted":"08/14/23","documentid":"0F3DD8C2-60FE-4AB6-BFD4-91E34E571E08","documentname":"3rd Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["0F3DD8C2-60FE-4AB6-BFD4-91E34E571E08","3rd Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"08/14/23","documentid":"4734A3D7-B646-4C23-A774-BD204A26512F","documentname":"Pre-General 2022","documentnameid":["4734A3D7-B646-4C23-A774-BD204A26512F","Pre-General 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"08/14/23","documentid":"2BE5AE71-3E1B-4C9C-B3CC-D01B2FCBA643","documentname":"2nd Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["2BE5AE71-3E1B-4C9C-B3CC-D01B2FCBA643","2nd Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"08/14/23","documentid":"9517C637-D682-406E-B9BF-AF43C9DCF7D0","documentname":"Pre-Primary 2022","documentnameid":["9517C637-D682-406E-B9BF-AF43C9DCF7D0","Pre-Primary 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"04/13/22","documentid":"98DF1D99-6C03-4927-9421-75EDD8AECFE6","documentname":"1st Qtr 2022","documentnameid":["98DF1D99-6C03-4927-9421-75EDD8AECFE6","1st Qtr 2022"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"02/03/22","documentid":"0F3A3918-5D1E-467D-A8F4-F2F350BDDA0D","documentname":"2021 Year-End Supplemental","documentnameid":["0F3A3918-5D1E-467D-A8F4-F2F350BDDA0D","2021 Year-End Supplemental"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/06/21","documentid":"55B1E0EC-9EB8-4C40-8539-5463F48E0FC5","documentname":"Appt of Treasurer 2022","documentnameid":["55B1E0EC-9EB8-4C40-8539-5463F48E0FC5","Appt of Treasurer 2022"],"documenttype":"Appointment of Political Treasurer","electionname":null}],"filertype":"Candidate","officename":"County Commission Dist. 11","source_customer_id":"0F5A08EE-617A-4B11-AD30-E963AE98E120","source_filer_id":"02F31AAC-8585-45AD-9FEC-0FBC786CB6C8","source_system":"easyvote","state":"TN","status":"Inactive"},{"county":"hamilton","displayname":"Besley, Montrell","documents":[{"datesubmitted":"04/27/26","documentid":"3E301291-A790-4DCB-8830-71D684D9B001","documentname":"Pre-Primary 2026","documentnameid":["3E301291-A790-4DCB-8830-71D684D9B001","Pre-Primary 2026"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"04/13/26","documentid":"E16544F2-F643-4D5C-9D4B-480B8ED18A2D","documentname":"1st Qtr 2026","documentnameid":["E16544F2-F643-4D5C-9D4B-480B8ED18A2D","1st Qtr 2026"],"documenttype":"Campaign Financial Disclosure","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"02/04/26","documentid":"CCCB7E31-D5D7-4A10-A689-06DC505546AF","documentname":"Appt of Treasurer 2026","documentnameid":["CCCB7E31-D5D7-4A10-A689-06DC505546AF","Appt of Treasurer 2026"],"documenttype":"Appointment of Political Treasurer","electionname":null}],"filertype":"Candidate","officename":"County Commission Dist. 11","source_customer_id":"0F5A08EE-617A-4B11-AD30-E963AE98E120","source_filer_id":"E7F3C88C-5BF1-4770-B4ED-58B028402737","source_system":"easyvote","state":"TN","status":"Active"}],"firstname":"Montrell","fullname":"Montrell Besley","lastname":"Besley","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","contest_title":"County Commission District 11","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":"County Commission District 11","party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":"hamilton","cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"D","primary":{"contest":"county_commission_district_11","contest_title":"County Commission District 11","county":"Hamilton","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-05-05","office_county":"hamilton","office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":"County Commission District 11","party":"D","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_11","office_title":"County Commission District 11","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Montrell Besley is a Democrat and Chattanooga native running for Hamilton County Commission District 11, previously serving on the Board of Education and as a teacher.","terms":[],"token":"IZz3Lz4U32"}