{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"DANNY G. JONES","chatgptsummary":"Danny G. Jones brings twenty-six years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, including roles as County Highway Maintenance Supervisor and District Maintenance Superintendent for four counties. His state certification authorizes pursuit of grants similar to a civil engineer, while his tenure includes identifying bridge repairs and prioritizing secondary road maintenance. Bio does not indicate prior experience in large-scale budget administration or complex procurement processes.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDanny G. Jones is the incumbent Hawkins County Road Superintendent, elected to a full term in 2022 [1]. He is the Republican Party nominee for reelection on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, opposed by Independent Jason E. Light [2].\n\n## Background and education\nJones is the son of the late Ben Jones, who served for many years as Hawkins County Road Superintendent [3]. In his early career he worked for his father in the road-superintendent's office before joining the Tennessee Department of Transportation [1].\n\n## Career\nJones spent about 26 years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, serving as County Highway Maintenance Supervisor for Hawkins County and, for three of those years, as a District Maintenance Superintendent responsible for four counties [1][4]. He is certified by the State of Tennessee as qualified to hold the office of Road Superintendent, a credential that authorizes a superintendent to pursue state grants and other financial assistance in the same capacity as a civil engineer [1].\n\n## Office history\nJones won the 2022 Republican primary with 3,636 votes against Joe Parrott (2,705) and write-in Curt Taylor (110); with no Democrat filing, he was elected without opposition in August 2022 and took office in September, succeeding the position his late father had held [4].\n\n## Legislative record and accomplishments\nAs superintendent Jones has told the county road committee that eighteen bridges in Hawkins County need to be closed and repaired, and has sought approval to fill five positions in the highway department [5]. His stated priority since first taking office has been prioritizing the county's worst secondary roads for repair [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Danny Jones for Highway Superintendent \u2014 Rogersville Review](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/rogersville/article_3b5e618b-035a-5f03-bd49-a56c7701b611.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Hawkins Road Superintendent Danny Jones runs for reelection \u2014 Kingsport Times News](https://timesnews.net/news/227124/hawkins-road-superintendent-danny-jones-runs-for-reelection/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Road Superintendent \u2014 Hawkins County, TN](https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/road_superintendent.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Meet the candidates for office of Hawkins County Road Superintendent \u2014 Kingsport Times News (2022)](https://www.timesnews.net/news/meet-the-candidates-for-office-of-hawkins-county-road-superintendent/article_4d62612e-b06d-11ec-918b-f390c686e0e7.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Hawkins County public safety, budget, other committees meet \u2014 Kingsport Times News](https://www.timesnews.net/news/hawkins-county-public-safety-budget-other-committees-meet/article_660f9bf6-3585-4e5c-9696-60d82bc30bdd.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"DANNY","lastname":"JONES","middlename":"G.","suffix":null,"token":"Mpsz6S4xC9"},"token":"danny_g_jones"},{"candidatename":"JASON E LIGHT","chatgptsummary":"Jason E. Light's biography shows relevant experience as Public Works Director for the City of Church Hill, where he oversees municipal operations and serves on a regional transportation planning committee. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate prior county-level budget administration or road construction engineering experience.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJason E. Light is Public Works Director for the City of Church Hill in Hawkins County and is running as an Independent for Hawkins County Road Superintendent on the August 6, 2026 general-election ballot, challenging Republican incumbent Danny G. Jones [1][2]. Light has said he entered the race because he believes he would be \"the better man for the job\" [1].\n\n## Career\nAs Church Hill's Public Works Director, Light oversees the city's municipal public-works operations and represents Church Hill on the Kingsport Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization's Technical Coordinating Committee, which coordinates transportation planning across the greater Kingsport area [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Church Hill public works director runs for Hawkins road superintendent \u2014 Kingsport Times News](https://timesnews.net/news/123720/church-hill-public-works-director-runs-for-hawkins-road-superintendent/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Hawkins voters have plenty of options \u2014 Rogersville Review](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_a72b5833-32a6-408c-84a9-21f45511c5f5.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Kingsport MTPO Technical Coordinating Committee \u2014 City of Kingsport](https://www.kingsporttn.gov/city-services/kmtpo/kingsport-mtpo-technical-coordinating-committee/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","firstname":"JASON","lastname":"LIGHT","middlename":"E","suffix":null,"token":"cRXLescgD5"},"token":"jason_e_light"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"road_superintendent","o.office":null,"office":"road_superintendent","officedescription":"The road superintendent (highway superintendent or commissioner in some counties) runs the county highway department \u2014 building and maintaining county roads and bridges, managing crews and equipment, and administering the road budget. It is an operational public-works command.","officequalities":"- Public-works and infrastructure management: responsible for the county road and bridge network.\n- Budget and procurement: administering the highway budget and buying materials and equipment.\n- Personnel and equipment management: running road crews and a fleet.\n- Roadwork and engineering knowledge: overseeing construction and maintenance standards.\n- Prioritization across the county: allocating finite crews and funds across many roads.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Road Superintendent","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"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":"Road Superintendent"}