{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Shelby F. Shankland","chatgptsummary":"Shelby F. Shankland's biography shows over thirty years in administration and operations management, including fifteen years leading teams and project management at an adult learning company. These roles suggest capacity for high-volume public service and staff supervision. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary history. Bio does not indicate experience with Tennessee motor-vehicle statutes or financial controls for state fee remittance.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nShelby F. Shankland is the Democratic Party nominee for Blount County Clerk on the August 6, 2026 county general election ballot, running to succeed retiring incumbent Gaye Hasty (R) [1][2]. She faces Republican nominee Brad Bryant and independent candidate Scott Keith Knight in the general [2].\n\n## Background and education\nPer her Daily Times \"Hats in the Ring\" candidate profile, Shankland describes herself as \"a heart-centered, compassionate leader with 20+ years in admin and people management\" and a 16-year Maryville resident who raised her family there with her husband, Scott [1].\n\n## Career\nBy her own account in the candidate profile, Shankland has more than 30 years of experience spanning administration, operations management, doula work for new families, and more than 15 years in project management, team leadership, and \"culture and leadership development consulting\" at what she describes as \"an award-winning adult learning and development company.\" She also says she spent a decade as a life coach and has a long background as a musician, playing flute in local orchestras [1]. These are candidate-described details from her campaign profile and have not been independently verified against employer records.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Dem: Blount County Clerk \u2014 Hats in the Ring, The Daily Times](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/dem-blount-county-clerk/pdf_78cac9ca-9e70-4efc-b630-2c7589c53b72.html), Marcus Fitzsimmons, April 2026 \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [August 6, 2026 Official Ballot for Blount County](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Shelby","lastname":"Shankland","middlename":"F.","suffix":null,"token":"0mFy1Bh0fu"},"token":"shelby_f_shankland"},{"candidatename":"Brad Bryant","chatgptsummary":"Brad Bryant's biography shows relevant experience for the Blount County Clerk role through his tenure as Chief of Staff in that office since July 2025 and over two decades managing finances for multiple businesses. His background includes supervisory roles at manufacturing facilities and long-term leadership of a church organization. The biography documents no controversies or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate specific experience administering motor-vehicle registrations or marriage licenses under Tennessee statutes.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrad Bryant is the Republican Party nominee for Blount County Clerk on the August 6, 2026 county general election ballot, running to succeed retiring incumbent Gaye Hasty [1][2]. He defeated Allen Latham in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary and faces Democratic nominee Shelby F. Shankland and independent candidate Scott Keith Knight in the general [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nBryant is the founding and teaching pastor of 180 Church (RIO 180) in Maryville. He and his wife, Tammy, began attending RIO in 2000; he became RIO's Associate Pastor in 2003, and in November 2005 was asked to plant a new congregation in Blount County, which held its first service in 2006 [3]. Per his Daily Times \"Hats in the Ring\" candidate profile, Bryant has served as Chief of Staff in the Blount County Clerk's office since July 2025 and has completed more than 40 hours of training toward the County Technical Assistance Service's County Officials Certificate Training Program [1].\n\n## Career\nBy his own account in the candidate profile, Bryant worked as a supervisor and manager at two manufacturing facilities \u2014 BTR and Panasonic Speakers \u2014 in his twenties and early thirties. He also describes 20 years leading 180 Church, 14 years as Chief Financial Officer for three locally owned businesses (until May 2025), during which he says those businesses grew from roughly $750,000 to close to $6 million in gross receipts, and 23 years as a police chaplain [1].\n\n## Family\nBryant says he and his wife, Tammy, have been married 36 years and have two adult children and three grandchildren [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [GOP: Blount County Clerk \u2014 Hats in the Ring, The Daily Times](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/gop-blount-county-clerk/pdf_8862d93a-47d7-4e06-91c5-9ef4417ea558.html), Marcus Fitzsimmons, April 2026 \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [August 6, 2026 Official Ballot for Blount County](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [RIO Network \u2014 180 Church](https://180churchtn.com/rio-network/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Brad","lastname":"Bryant","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"BRfUabtGv1"},"token":"brad_bryant"},{"candidatename":"Scott Keith Knight","chatgptsummary":"Scott Keith Knight's biography shows he is an independent candidate running for Blount County Clerk in 2026, but it does not document prior experience administering motor-vehicle registrations, marriage licenses, or business-tax fees under Tennessee statutes. The record contains no evidence of his capacity to manage high-volume customer service, financial controls for fee collection, or supervision of office staff and technology systems. Bio does not indicate relevant administrative or regulatory experience.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nScott Keith Knight is an independent candidate for Blount County Clerk on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, seeking the seat left open by retiring incumbent Gaye Hasty [1]. Knight took out a petition to oppose Brad Bryant in the Republican primary and, the same week, also took out a petition to run as an independent [1]; he ultimately appears on the August ballot as the independent candidate, alongside Republican nominee Brad Bryant and Democratic nominee Shelby Shankland [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [County mayor, clerk primary filings pick up as deadline nears](https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/county-mayor-clerk-primary-filings-pick-up-as-deadline-nears/article_b6bdaf25-5202-4778-bf2a-033c130cc248.html) (The Daily Times) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-09\n[2] [August 6, 2026 Official Ballot for Blount County](https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF) (Blount County Election Commission) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-09","firstname":"Scott","lastname":"Knight","middlename":"Keith","suffix":null,"token":"2ld84SbTj6"},"token":"scott_keith_knight"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_clerk","o.office":null,"office":"county_clerk","officedescription":"The county clerk handles a broad set of public transactions and records: marriage and business licenses, motor-vehicle titling and registration, notary commissions, and the official minutes of the county commission. It is a high-volume administrative and records office.","officequalities":"- Administration of motor-vehicle registration, license plates, marriage licenses, and business-tax registrations \u2014 a high-volume, public-facing operation.\n- Working knowledge of the Tennessee statutes governing each of those functions, which change regularly.\n- Customer-service capacity: the clerk's office is one of the most-visited county offices by ordinary residents.\n- Financial controls for collecting state and local fees and remitting them accurately.\n- Supervision of office staff handling high transaction volume, and technology and process management as more services move online.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Clerk","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-02","title":"Blount County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.blounttn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30077/August-6-2026-Sample-Ballot-PDF"},"title":"County Clerk"}