{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"ROGER A. VERRAN","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":null,"firstname":"ROGER","lastname":"VERRAN","middlename":"A.","suffix":null,"token":"aTliYhDytN"},"token":"roger_a_verran"},{"candidatename":"JESSICA F. FULLER","chatgptsummary":"Fuller's four-year career as a journalist covering crime and education demonstrates communication skills relevant to constituent relations and legislative reporting. The biography contains no record of controversy or disciplinary action. Bio does not indicate experience in budget management, land use policy, or Tennessee county-government law.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJessica F. Fuller is a Democratic candidate for the Washington County Commission's 5th District seat, on the ballot in the county general election on August 6, 2026 [1][2]. A Gray, Tennessee resident, Fuller is a first-time candidate for public office [1].\n\n## Background and education\nFuller earned a mass communications degree from East Tennessee State University in 2014 [3].\n\n## Career\nFuller worked as a reporter for the Johnson City Press for about four years, covering crime and education, before joining WJHL as a digital journalist in January 2019 [3]. The Washington County Democratic Party's candidate page describes her as a \"former journalist\" running on \"transparency, smart growth, and land conservation\" [2]. Explaining her decision to run, Fuller said: \"As a voter, I would often go to the voting booth and not see any options for local office... I thought I would wait for that person to run to give me an option. And then I guess one day I just realized that person could be me\" [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Democrats field candidates for nearly every Washington County Commission seat](https://www.wjhl.com/news/your-local-election-hq/democrats-field-candidate-for-nearly-every-washington-county-commission-seat-for-next-election/) \u2014 WJHL, accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Candidates \u2013 Washington County Democratic Party](https://wctndp.org/candidates/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Jessica Fuller author page](https://www.wjhl.com/author/jessica-fuller/) \u2014 WJHL, accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"JESSICA","lastname":"FULLER","middlename":"F.","suffix":null,"token":"5z6eirH8PA"},"token":"jessica_f_fuller"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"county_commissioner","o.office":null,"office":"county_commission_district_5","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":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-02","title":"Washington County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"http://www.wcecoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Full-Sample-Ballots.pdf"},"title":"County Commissioner District 5"}