{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"David Akard III","chatgptsummary":"David Akard III's biography shows incumbent experience as a Sullivan County commissioner, demonstrating familiarity with local policy judgment, budget processes, and constituent relations within Tennessee county law. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate prior state-level legislative drafting experience or specific UT CTAS continuing education completion.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDavid Akard III is the Republican incumbent Sullivan County commissioner for District 2, seeking reelection in 2026; his current term expires in 2026.[1][2]\n\n## Sources\n[1] Sullivan County Election Commission \u2014 Elected Officials: https://www.scelect.org/electedofficials.html\n[2] Sullivan County, TN \u2014 Board of Commissioners Contact List, 2022-2026: https://www.sullivancountytn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022-2026-county-commission-contact-list.pdf\n","firstname":"David","lastname":"Akard","middlename":null,"suffix":"III","token":"gKPoWYmf76"},"token":"david_akard_iii"},{"candidatename":"Kim Harvey","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"Kim","lastname":"Harvey","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"sUkCpmf70x"},"token":"kim_harvey"},{"candidatename":"Mark A. Vance","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"Mark","lastname":"Vance","middlename":"A.","suffix":null,"token":"D1cVlC4Sml"},"token":"mark_a_vance"}],"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":3,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-19","title":"sullivan County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.scelect.org/aug2026gensampleballot.pdf"},"title":"County Commission District 2"}