Sevier County will have a new mayor in 2027 as Mayor Larry Waters announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection.
Waters has been the mayor of Sevier County since 1978, which makes him the longest-serving county mayor in the state’s history, according to Sevier County.
“Serving as Sevier County Mayor has truly been the honor of a lifetime,” said Waters. “I am proud of what we have built together, grateful for the trust the people of Sevier County have placed in me, and I’m committed to finishing my final year in office with the same dedication and focus as ever.”
“There is still important work to be done before my term ends in 2026, and I remain determined to see it through,” he added.
Since Waters has been in office, he has helped improve the county’s tourism economy. According to the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency, the county has over 21 million visitors yearly.
Additionally, the economic development agency stated the county’s budget has increased “almost twentyfold” since Waters came into office.
During Water’s tenure, the Sevier County government expanded to 33 departments, the economic development agency noted.
Over the past 47 years, Sevier County has experienced exponential growth. In 1978, 39,000 people lived in the county. Fast-forward to 2025, and the area now has approximately 100,000 residents.
This represents a 156.4 percent increase in the county’s population during this time span.
To congratulate Waters on his retirement announcement, Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) said Sevier County “has had decades of great leadership” from Waters.
“The growth of Sevier County and its success has been great for all of Tennessee,” he stated on X. “Thank you, Larry, for your service to Sevier County and to this great state!”
Currently, Rose is running for Tennessee Governor. His primary opponent is Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). A poll from the Beacon Center of Tennessee, released earlier this month, showed the senator had a 52-point lead over Rose.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
Background Photo “Sevier County Courthouse” by Brian Stansberry. CC BY 3.0.
The guy was in office for too long. He should have stepped down decades ago but I guess the voters were either too lazy or too stupid to vote him out of office. As for the county’s economic growth, its economy grew in spite of the Mayor and not because of him.
As for Mr. Rose, I’ll probably vote for him in the primary because he’s much more conservative than Blackburn. I also suspect that Blackburn voted for Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader; she’s never denied it and for that reason alone I would not vote for her, at least not in the primary,.