Former Rutherford County Commissioner Tina Jones announced her candidacy for Rutherford County Mayor on Wednesday.
Current Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess has said he will not seek re-election, and State Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) has already he is seeking the job as well.
Here is the full statement of Jones’ announcement:
Tina Jones, a Republican businesswoman with 7 generations of her family having lived in Rutherford County, has launched her campaign for County Mayor. Jones is a 38-year resident of Rutherford County and served as a Rutherford County Commissioner for 12 years, serving on the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission for 8 of those 12 years. Jones is known as being one of the most effective leaders during her tenure in office and a forceful advocate for keeping taxes low.
“These are challenging times for our county because of the rapid growth, traffic congestion, increasing crime rates and the need to ensure that our children are getting the best education possible,” Jones noted in making her announcement. “But this is also a time of great opportunity if we make the right decisions to move our county forward, keep taxes low and retain the values that have made our community such a great place to live, work and raise our children. I look forward to providing the leadership we need to keep us moving in the RIGHT direction.”
“I am particularly concerned about what we do with our county landfill situation,” Jones pointed out. “We cannot afford to make a mistake when demand is increasing and taxpayer dollars are at risk. We need a thorough, detailed and immediate review of the options available before any final decision is made.”
As a community leader, Tina worked with her fellow commissioners to meet the County’s growing education demand by funding the construction of 14 new schools, expanding 11 existing schools and increasing the school operating budget. Public safety needs were also addressed by providing a special operations facility, expanding the jail, new juvenile detention and court facilities, adding ambulance stations and a dispatch center. Tina is also very proud of the PAWS facility, Lane Agri-Park and participating in making county property available for MTSU Agricultural programs. Freezing property taxes for low-income senior citizens and longevity pay for county employees are other accomplishments in which Tina helped orchestrate as a county commissioner.
After Tina’s time on the county commission, she worked in the private sector of commercial real estate. Most recently, Tina worked for local US Congressman Scott DesJarlais, helping veterans, assisting local industry and keeping lines of communication open between local, state and federal government.
