Joshua Anderson seeks county mayor post
Joshua Anderson
First elected to the County Commission for District 3 in 2018, Anderson served as commission chairman from September 2020 to 2023.
A native of Anderson County, he’s now in his second term on the commission. He works as a financial aid officer for South College in Knoxville, and his family has farmed in the Brooks Gap area for decades, he said.
In an announcement on Facebook last Friday (June 20), Anderson said:
“After two terms serving as your county commissioner, I would be honored to serve as your county mayor. I am committed to listening to our communities as we make planning and zoning decisions regarding the future development of our county.
“I’m committed to making positive changes to our animal shelter and animal welfare situation in our county, and like I did with commission, if elected, I pledge to serve no more than two terms.”
So far, Anderson is the only person who is challenging Frank for the mayor’s position, to which she was first elected in 2012 to fill out the remaining two years of Rex Lynch’s term. Lynch resigned the position midway through his term after his re-election in 2010.
Frank has since won re-election to four-year terms as mayor in 2014, 2018 and 2022. Her term expires in 2026, following the August general election.
As for Anderson, he told The Courier News on Monday:
“I’m committed to a two- term limit, and as the fourth generation of my family to live on our farm, I’ll be here long after leaving office. So how the county plans for growth and development is important to me. I’m concerned Andersonville will end up like Emory Road or Kingston Pike if we don’t plan well.
“The expansion of the nuclear industry in Oak Ridge is huge, and will require a huge workforce,” he said. “We have a unique opportunity to train and educate our students to be part of that workforce, so our kids can afford to stay here when they graduate high school or college. Supporting our already strong career and technical education in our school system will ensure our kids’ resumes are at the top of the stack.
“Last but certainly not least, we have a major issue in Anderson County with animal welfare,” Anderson said. “I’m not an expert on animal shelters or animal control by any means, but I’m committed to finding solutions and I’m willing to assemble a team of volunteers and experts who can improve the animal shelter situation in Anderson County.”
In the 2022 general election, Anderson won re-election to one of the two commission seats in District 3 with 38.29% of the vote. Also winning was Shelly Vandagriff with 34.68%. Both outpolled candidate Lindsay Smith, who got 27.03% of the vote.
