{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMark Ireson is an incumbent Republican member of the Sullivan County Commission representing District 8 (Kingsport) and a Republican Party nominee for one of the district's two seats in the August 6, 2026 county general election [2][1].\n\n## Office history\nIreson took office as District 8 commissioner on September 1, 2022 [1]. He also held a seat on the Sullivan County Board of Education [3][4].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nIn 2023, Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court seeking to remove Ireson from the county Board of Education, alleging he could not legally hold both the school board seat and a county commission seat at the same time [3]. Ireson subsequently resigned his Board of Education seat; the resignation was reported to the county commission in January 2024 [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Sullivan County Commissioners (Sullivan County TN government)](https://sullivancountytn.gov/county-commissioner-information/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Official Ballot for Sullivan County, August 6, 2026](https://www.wate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/42/2026/07/Sullivan-County-August-6-Sample-Ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Lawsuit seeks to oust County Commissioner Ireson from Sullivan County school board (Kingsport Times News)](https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/lawsuit-seeks-to-oust-county-commissioner-ireson-from-sullivan-county-school-board/article_b880c5e2-7db0-11ee-aa6e-87567043e081.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[4] [Mark Ireson resigns Sullivan County school board seat (Kingsport Times News)](https://www.timesnews.net/news/education/last-update-mark-ireson-resigns-sullivan-county-school-board-seat/article_3232c7b0-b942-11ee-bbaa-c70d959ed201.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_8","county":"Sullivan","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commission District 8"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Mark","fullname":"Mark Ireson","lastname":"Ireson","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_8","contest_title":"County Commission District 8","county":"Sullivan","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_8","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_8","contest_title":"County Commission District 8","county":"Sullivan","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_8","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_8","office_title":"County Commission District 8","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Republican Sullivan County commissioner for District 8 (Kingsport), in office since 2022; resigned a county school-board seat in 2024 amid a dual-office lawsuit.","terms":[],"token":"Og1z0bIOhu"}