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Arnold announces candidacy for Washington County mayor

By Heather Richardson
Press Staff Writer
hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com

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Former Tennessee senator Don Arnold announced his candidacy for Washington County mayor Tuesday morning on the front steps of the Washington County Courthouse.

“After what I consider to be a successful career I am ready to share my experience, my enthusiasm, my energy and my commitment to help bring a fresh approach to Washington County politics,” Arnold told the crowd of supporters gathered in front of the courthouse. “I feel very strongly that I can make a significant contribution as mayor.”

Arnold said he believed the main issue facing Washington County as well as most other local governments, is responsible management. Citing Washington County’s 9.2 percent unemployment rate as well as its bonded indebtedness of $150 million and $10 million in revenue anticipatory notes Arnold said the upcoming mayoral term will come with challenges — ones he believes his experience will help him meet.

“In times like these, strong fiscal management is not a luxury,” Arnold said. “It’s an absolute necessity for this county.”

Arnold told the crowd he would be a hands-on and open mayor.

“I will be chairman of the budget committee as mandated by statute,” Arnold said. “Public hearings will be held on every last detail of every single budget. All county business will be conducted in the open. Public oversight is the backbone of strong fiscal management.”

Arnold said that along with responsible management, Washington County needed vision. One of his first actions as mayor, he said, would be to bring together leaders from all over Washington County and assemble a long-range vision committee.

Citing the assets that lie within the boundaries of Johnson City and Jonesborough, Arnold said now is the time to bridge the city and county divide.

“Few regions nationwide are as fortunate as we are to have a thriving university, a medical school, a pharmacy school, a VA facility, such outstanding health care, the International Storytelling Center right down the street here and the Natural History Museum at the Gray Fossil Site,” Arnold said. “All together they are the lifeblood of this great county.

“Cooperation and communication across all lines is not an option. It is essential if we are to come together and bridge the divide and move Washington County into the 21st century.”

Arnold received a law degree from the University of Tennessee and an accounting degree from East Tennessee State University. He is a practicing attorney in Washington County. He has served as assistant district attorney general, has been appointed as a special judge to the Tennessee Supreme Court and has served nine years on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Advisory Commission on Civil and Criminal Rules. He has also served in the House of Delegates of the Tennessee Bar Association and is a former president of the Washington County Bar Association.

Arnold is a former mayor of Johnson City. He has also served on the board of directors of the Johnson City Housing Authority, the public building authority, the regional planning commission and a two-year term as chairman of the Washington County Republican Executive Committee.