{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Shawna Walker Farmer","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"Shawna","lastname":"Farmer","middlename":"Walker","suffix":null,"token":"fSeMDFU7Q3"},"token":"shawna_walker_farmer"},{"candidatename":"Matthew (Matt) Colvard","chatgptsummary":"Matthew Colvard's biography shows relevant experience as a current Bledsoe County Commissioner and former board chairman, demonstrating familiarity with county budgeting and legislative processes. The record documents his role in approving the 2022 annual financial report. Bio does not indicate prior experience in land use policy or intergovernmental relations.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMatthew (Matt) Colvard is an Independent candidate for the Bledsoe County Commission, District 4, Part A, on the August 6, 2026 county general-election ballot [1].\n\n## Office history\nColvard has served on the Bledsoe County Commission and chaired the county's Board of Commissioners; he is listed as chairman of the board in Bledsoe County's audited annual financial report for the year ended June 30, 2022 [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Friday marks beginning of early voting - The Bledsonian-Banner](https://www.thebledsonian-banner.com/2026/07/14/friday-marks-beginning-of-early-voting/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Bledsoe County, Tennessee - Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2022 (TN Comptroller)](https://comptroller.tn.gov/content/dam/cot/la/documents/county/2022/FY22BledsoeAFR.pdf) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Matthew","lastname":"Colvard","middlename":"(Matt)","suffix":null,"token":"YiTimLmvpE"},"token":"matthew_matt_colvard"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_4","officedescription":"A county commissioner is a member of the county's legislative body. The commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, authorizes borrowing, and passes county resolutions and ordinances. Commissioners are elected from districts (or at-large seats) to represent constituents on countywide policy.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on countywide matters \u2014 budget, taxes, land use, services, and intergovernmental issues \u2014 within Tennessee county-government law.\n- Budget literacy: the commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes multi-year bond issues.\n- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; committee work that pre-screens items.\n- Constituent relations in the district \u2014 case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required annual continuing education through UT CTAS.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Commissioner","partisan":1,"pgr":"primary","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-21","title":"Bledsoe County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://tnsos.org/elections/ballots/745.pdf"},"title":"County Commission District 4, Part A"}