Yikes! Come January 2026, Knoxville City Council will have five new members – a majority. And most of the candidates, I’ve never heard of. Thank God for Ivan Harmon, long-time city council member who briefly served on the county commission, the city school board and actually ran for city mayor. Ivan is on the ballot in council District 3.

The deadline to qualify (turn in a petition with at least 25 signatures of registered voters) is noon Thursday, May 15, 2025. That’s tomorrow, folks.

Here’s how things looked at end of day Tuesday (5/13). Petitions have been picked up by:

District 1 – South Knoxville – seat now held by Tommy Smith

District 2 – West Knoxville – seat now held by Andrew Roberto

  • Jeremy Coffey, Westborough Road
  • Nathan Honeycutt, Oakhurst Drive
  • Melody Watts, Broome Road

District 3 – Northwest Knoxville – seat now held by Seema Singh

District 4 – North/Northeast Knoxville – seat now held by Lauren Rider

District 6 – East Knoxville – seat now held by Gwen McKenzie

  • Sam Brown, Norwalk Avenue
  • Charles Frazier, McConnell Street
  • Gaal Tibor, Frank Watts Road
  • Denzel Grant, Lansing Avenue
  • Deidra Harper, Adams Avenue
  • Stan Johnson, Woodbine Avenue
  • George J. “Cat Dad” Raudenbush III, Woodbine Avenue
  • Jordan Walley, E. Glenwood Avenue

Lawrence “Man” Williams, East 5th Avenue

Methodology

The writer included links to candidates with a campaign site based on typing their name and Knoxville TN into a search engine. Some of the candidates without campaign sites turned up other interesting tidbits:

  • One candidate has convictions for driving offenses, evading arrest, assault and reckless endangerment – sentenced to four years to be served on supervised probation.
  • Another is a mental health practitioner who may have played volleyball at LMU.
  • There’s a former gang member who now works to interrupt violence.
  • One man lists his residence of record at a vacant lot.
  • Finally, there’s the guy whose sister took out a restraining order after he threatened her during a family discussion about their mother’s estate.
Election facts per Knox County Election Commission

City of Knoxville Primary Election – Tuesday, August 26, 2025

  • On the ballot: City Council – Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 – Voter will cast a vote only in voter’s district of residence – No citywide votes and no election at all in District 5.

Schedule:

  • Monday, March 17, 2025 – First day to pick up a petition
  • Thursday, May 15, 2025 at NOON – Petition return Deadline
  • Thursday, May 22, 2025 at NOON – Withdrawal Deadline
  • Wednesday, May 28, 2025 – First day to request an absentee ballot (90 days prior to election)
  • Monday, July 28, 2025 – Final day to register to vote before election
  • Wednesday, August 6, 2025 – First day of Early Voting period
  • Saturday, August 16, 2025 – Final day to request an absentee ballot (10 days prior to election)
  • Thursday, August 21, 2025 – Final day of Early Voting period
  • Tuesday, August 26, 2025 – Election Day

City of Knoxville General Election – Tuesday, November 4, 2025

  • City Council – Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 – Voter will cast a vote only in voter’s district of residence – No citywide votes and no election at all in District 5. Each district’s top two vote-getters from the Primary Election will be on the ballot.

Schedule:

    • Wednesday, August 6, 2025 – First day to request an absentee ballot (90 days prior to election)
    • Monday, October 6, 2025 – Final day to register to vote before election
    • Wednesday, October 15, 2025 – First day of Early Voting period
    • Saturday, October 25, 2025 – Final day to request an absentee ballot (10 days prior to election)
    • Thursday, October 30, 2025 – Final day of Early Voting period
    • Tuesday, November 4, 2025 – Election Day