{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"CRAIG CLARK","chatgptsummary":"Craig Clark's biography shows thirty years as a civil engineer and executive manager, relevant to budget literacy and public works judgment for County Commissioner. He currently serves on the Cumberland County Board of Equalization, demonstrating familiarity with local assessment processes. Bio does not indicate experience in legislative drafting or constituent case-work.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCraig Clark is a Republican candidate for the Cumberland County Commission in the 3rd District, which elects two commissioners [1][3]. He advanced from the May 5, 2026 county primary (about 48 percent) to the August 6 general election, along with fellow Republican Karen Shanks (about 50 percent) [3]. His campaign emphasizes disciplined stewardship of tax dollars, open government and \"zero backroom deals,\" and \"sensible\" growth grounded in faith-and-family values; he describes himself as an experienced project manager rather than a politician [1].\n\n## Background and education\nClark describes himself as a family man and longtime resident of the Homesteads community in Cumberland County who came from a modest upbringing [1].\n\n## Career\nClark is a retired civil engineer and executive manager with more than 30 years of experience managing teams and solving public-works problems [1].\n\n## Office history\nIn May 2026 the County Commission appointed Clark to the Cumberland County Board of Equalization, a seat added to meet a state requirement that the county's board have six members because of the city of Crossville's population; the appointment runs through April 30, 2028 [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Craig Clark for District 3 \u2014 campaign website](https://craigclark-district3.com/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Craig Clark Appointed to Cumberland County Board of Equalization \u2014 102.5 WOW Country](https://1025wowcountry.com/2026/05/18/craig-clark-appointed-to-cumberland-county-board-of-equalization/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [Cumberland County primary results, May 5, 2026 \u2014 The UC Now](https://theucnow.com/2026/05/05/wyatt-trustee-kerley-register-of-deeds-advance-in-cumberland/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"CRAIG","lastname":"CLARK","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"WI1hHI4kqg"},"token":"craig_clark"},{"candidatename":"WENDELL HOUSTON","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"WENDELL","lastname":"HOUSTON","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"7LXqG6TtRR"},"token":"wendell_houston"},{"candidatename":"DARRELL G. THREET","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"DARRELL","lastname":"THREET","middlename":"G.","suffix":null,"token":"JJHr5BW2OB"},"token":"darrell_g_threet"},{"candidatename":"KAREN B. SHANKS","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"KAREN","lastname":"SHANKS","middlename":"B.","suffix":null,"token":"RyWeriovx8"},"token":"karen_b_shanks"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_3","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":"general","quantity":2,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-19","title":"cumberland County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://cumberlandcountytn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sample-Ballot-Aug-2026.pdf"},"title":"County Commission District 3"}