{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"CODIE PATE","chatgptsummary":"Codie Pate's biography shows civic engagement through leadership of a river cleanup and membership in a local watchdog group, demonstrating community coordination relevant to constituent relations. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate experience with county budgeting, legislative drafting, or state-mandated continuing education.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCodie Pate is an Independent candidate for Hawkins County Commission District 2 on the August 6, 2026 ballot [1]. He is running through the GoodParty platform, pledging to run outside the two-party system, accept majority grassroots funding, and maintain transparency and accountability [2].\n\n## Career\nPate is a member of United Citizens of Hawkins County (UCHC), a local civic watchdog group [3]. In summer 2024 he initiated an individual effort to clean up the North Holston River after noticing significant trash and tire accumulation while kayaking; on July 27, 2024, he led a UCHC- and Care NET-organized volunteer cleanup that removed 176 tires from a half-acre section of the river, coordinating kayak crews, barge operations, and loading teams [4][5]. He described the effort as an ongoing commitment, noting more than 50 additional tires remained stacked and 50-60 more were still buried in the same river section [4][5].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Sample Ballot, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Codie Pate for Hawkins County Commission \u2014 District 2 (GoodParty)](https://goodparty.org/candidate/codie-pate/hawkins-county-commission-district-2) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] ['My personal mission': Volunteers remove 176 tires from Holston River (UCHC)](https://www.uchc-tn.org/post/my-personal-mission-volunteers-remove-176-tires-from-holston-river) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] ['My personal mission': Volunteers remove 176 tires from Holston River \u2014 first-person column by Codie Pate (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/columns/article_aacce60a-4f5c-11ef-9f1f-bf539ca7fb4c.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n","firstname":"CODIE","lastname":"PATE","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"Hnw3bgVQdp"},"token":"codie_pate"},{"candidatename":"RANDY L. PATTERSON","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"RANDY","lastname":"PATTERSON","middlename":"L.","suffix":null,"token":"MZbd6eMOHZ"},"token":"randy_l_patterson"},{"candidatename":"STEVE ARMSTRONG","chatgptsummary":"Steve Armstrong's biography shows membership in Hawkins County Emergency Medical Services, which may inform constituent relations and local service awareness for a county commissioner role. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary history. Bio does not indicate experience with budget literacy, legislative drafting, or state-mandated continuing education required for the office.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSteve Armstrong is an Independent candidate for Hawkins County Commission District 2 on the August 6, 2026 ballot [1].\n\n## Career\nArmstrong is a member of Hawkins County Emergency Medical Services and is challenging for a District 2 seat as an Independent in the August general election [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Sample Ballot, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"STEVE","lastname":"ARMSTRONG","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"mcR33E7Sok"},"token":"steve_armstrong"},{"candidatename":"JEFF BARRETT","chatgptsummary":"Jeff Barrett's biography shows relevant experience as an incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner since 2018, including service on the Road Committee and voting on resolutions regarding speed limits. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate budget literacy or legislative drafting experience.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJeff Barrett is the incumbent Hawkins County Commissioner for District 2 and is the Republican Party nominee seeking re-election on the August 6, 2026 ballot [1][2]. He has filed his petition to seek another term [3].\n\n## Office history\nBarrett was among the District 2 members of the commission elected in the August 7, 2018 general election, alongside Keith Gibson and Tom Kern; his listed residence at that time was 111 Park View Street in Church Hill [1]. He served on the commission's Road Committee, including at its January 24, 2023 organizational meeting, where he voted on committee business such as a speed-limit resolution for Gene Derrick Road [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Hawkins County Commissioners elected August 7, 2018](https://www.hawkinscountyclerk.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021-Commissioners.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Hawkins County Sample Ballot, August 6, 2026](https://hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options (Rogersville Review)](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Hawkins County Commission February 2023 Resolution](https://www.hawkinscountyclerk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Februrary-Resolution-2023.pdf) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20","firstname":"JEFF","lastname":"BARRETT","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"24VSHgzmaW"},"token":"jeff_barrett"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_2","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":"2026-07-18","title":"Hawkins County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/pdfs/elections/sample_ballot.pdf"},"title":"County Commissioner District 2"}