{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJosh Gilliam is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 4, listed as Joshua Gilliam of Rogersville among the two District 4 seatholders alongside Chad Britton [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, running alongside fellow Republican Warren C. Bishop for the district's two seats [2]. He filed his petition to seek another term in January 2026 [3].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nGilliam serves as vice chair of the Hawkins County Budget Committee [4]. In April 2026, as the county began its state-required property re-appraisal, he publicly explained that rising assessed values do not automatically raise tax bills \u2014 that the state provides a certified tax rate designed to generate the same revenue as the prior year \u2014 and urged residents not to conflate the two [4]. In earlier budget debates he pushed back against the framing that supporting a larger sheriff's department budget was incompatible with opposing tax increases [5].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commission](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/county_commission.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Official Ballot, Hawkins County, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Hawkins County begins state required property re-appraisal](https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/hawkins-county-begins-state-required-property-re-appraisal/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [After deadlocked votes, Hawkins County Commission passes final version of budget](https://www.timesnews.net/after-deadlocked-votes-hawkins-county-commission-passes-final-version-of-budget/article_ca28f828-488f-11ef-9bc8-1b352fdd34d7.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"County Commissioner District 4"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"JOSH","fullname":"JOSH GILLIAM","lastname":"GILLIAM","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 4","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_commission_district_4","contest_title":"County Commissioner District 4","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"R","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_commission_district_4","office_title":"County Commissioner District 4","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 4 and vice chair of the county budget committee, seeking a new term on the August 6, 2026 ballot.","terms":[],"token":"j1XjTSA064"}