{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"KERRY W LEDBETTER","chatgptsummary":"Ledbetter's twenty-year hospitality management career and decade of homeowners association administration demonstrate relevant experience in high-volume customer service, financial controls, staff supervision, and process management. His current role on the Putnam County School Board further indicates familiarity with local government operations. The biography contains no record of controversy or disciplinary action. Bio does not indicate specific experience administering motor-vehicle registrations or applying Tennessee statutes governing marriage licenses and business taxes.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nKerry Ledbetter is the Republican nominee for Putnam County Clerk in the August 6, 2026 county general election [1][2]. He currently serves on the Putnam County School Board, to which he was elected in 2022 [1]. His platform emphasizes transparency, accountability, and customer service [1].\n\n## Background and education\nLedbetter graduated from Cookeville High School in 1989 and attended Tennessee Tech University, where he majored in business [1].\n\n## Career\nLedbetter spent more than 20 years in hospitality management, beginning at a local hotel and rising to general manager, then area manager over two hotels in Murfreesboro, where he served on the Rutherford County Hospitality Association Board and was its president in 2008 [1]. As a regional manager he oversaw 11 hotels across Tennessee, Texas, and Florida [1]. For the past decade he has managed homeowners associations in Middle Tennessee, advising HOA boards on administration and contract negotiation [1]. He has served as minister of music at Hampton's Crossroads Baptist Church for 16 years [1].\n\n## Family\nLedbetter has been married to Karen Ledbetter, a licensed clinical social worker, for 28 years; the couple has five children and one grandchild [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Meet Kerry \u2014 Kerry Ledbetter for Putnam County Clerk](https://www.kerryledbetter.com/meet-kerry) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Kerry Ledbetter for Putnam County Clerk (Facebook)](https://www.facebook.com/kerryledbetter2026/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","firstname":"KERRY","lastname":"LEDBETTER","middlename":"W","suffix":null,"token":"x6z3HgyMY5"},"token":"kerry_w_ledbetter"},{"candidatename":"CHAD DAY","chatgptsummary":"Chad Day's Master of Public Administration degree and ownership of a local franchise suggest familiarity with public administration principles and customer service in high-volume settings. The biography contains no record of controversy or disciplinary action. Bio does not indicate experience with Tennessee motor-vehicle statutes or financial controls for remitting state fees.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nChad Day is an independent candidate for Putnam County Clerk in the August 6, 2026 county general election [1][2].\n\n## Background and education\nDay holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree [1].\n\n## Business interests\nDay owns Envy of Cookeville, LLC, which operates the DonutNV Cookeville franchise [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Chad Day, MPA \u2014 LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaddaympa/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22\n[2] [Chad Day, Putnam County Clerk-Candidate (Facebook)](https://www.facebook.com/p/Chad-Day-Putnam-County-Clerk-Candidate-61575246873628/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-22","firstname":"CHAD","lastname":"DAY","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"wMG5iAnk2e"},"token":"chad_day"}],"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":"2026-07-19","title":"putnam County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://putnamcountytn.gov/sites/default/files/downloadable/GEN%20ONLY%20Sample%20Ballot%208-6-2026.pdf"},"title":"County Clerk"}