Jimmy Gray (Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3, Georgia, candidate 2024)

Jimmy Gray

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Republican Party

Candidate, Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 21, 2024

Education

High school

Ringgold High School

Personal

Birthplace

Birmingham, Ala.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Finance

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Jimmy Gray (Republican Party) ran for election to the Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3 in Georgia. He was on the ballot in the Republican primary on May 21, 2024.

Gray completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jimmy Gray provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on April 30, 2024:

• Birth date: April 21, 1974
• Birth place: Birmingham, Alabama
• High school: Ringgold High School
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Catholic
• Profession: Finance
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

The primary runoff occurred on June 18, 2024. The general election will occur on November 5, 2024. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary runoff.

General election for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

Alex Brady and Richard Tharpe ran in the general election for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Alex Brady (D)
	Submit photo	Richard Tharpe (R)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

Incumbent Vanita C. Hullander and Richard Tharpe ran in the Republican primary runoff for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3 on June 18, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Vanita C. Hullander
	Submit photo	Richard Tharpe

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

Alex Brady ran in the Democratic primary for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate
		Alex Brady

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

Incumbent Vanita C. Hullander, Jimmy Gray, and Richard Tharpe ran in the Republican primary for Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Vanita C. Hullander
	Submit photo	Jimmy Gray
	Submit photo	Richard Tharpe

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gray in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jimmy Gray completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gray's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Jimmy Gray and I was raised in District 3. I graduated from Ringgold High School in 1992, I am married to my wife Jennifer and we have 3 adult children. I work in the finance industry since 1996 and I have been at my current employer for almost 16 years. I am tired of seeing my property taxes increase and I am tired of waiting on someone to fight to lower them. That is what prompted me to enter the race, as I told our current commissioner in 2022 that if she voted to raise our taxes that I was going to run against her the next time she was up for election. I will fight to make your voices heard as I have held 6 town hall meetings since October 2023 and I am the only candidate that has done this in Catoosa County.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am 100% against any kind of property tax increase on your primary residence. There is no need to constantly raise your taxes with the growth we have seen in Catoosa County in recent years. Government needs to learn to constrain its budget and save tax payer's money.
• I believe government needs to fund first responders and public works before any other departments. Our first responders are the most important thing that government funds as our lives could literally depend on the men and women in uniform. We need to make sure they have the best equipment available and are paid a fair wage so they want to stay in Catoosa County their entire career. The same is true with our public works department, we need to fully fund them and hold department head accountable to achieve results. Right now our county paves around 10 to 14 miles of road per year and this needs to be increased. We need to solicit multiple bids on paving projects to ensure we are receiving the best product at the best price.
• I will make your voices heard by holding regularly scheduled town hall meetings. I have held 6 town hall meetings since October 2023 that have been open for anyone to attend. I answered every question I was asked and feel this is a vital part of the relationship between citizens and the government that must take place. I want to inform you of what is going on in the county and listen to your concerns.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about our taxes. We are taxed on things everyday and locally the government has the revenue to serve our needs. Instead of focusing on our needs they also seem to want to fund our wants. While that might sound desirable, we see that it is wasteful in times like we are living in today. I will do everything I can to lower and possibly eliminate your taxes on your primary residence with the implantation of HOST. HOST stands for Homestead Option Sales Tax and it has to be used to offset your property taxes each year.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe elected officials should be leaders and be willing to listen to differing opinions. I have shown time after time that I am willing to listen to people with various political beliefs. Someone might look at a situation or issue from a different viewpoint that might help resolve the issue if you can bring your ideas together.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was cleaning US Air at the Chattanooga airport. I was 16 when I started and I had that job until I was 18. I was trusted to drive vehicles around the airport tarmac and even move the jet bridge when my job was complete for the night. I would work alone and I cleaned the final airline to arrive at night. I would have to clean everything inside and restock items such as kitchen supplies and magazines. It was a great job that I thoroughly enjoyed but I had to quit when I had to relocate with my mom after I graduated high school. To my knowledge I was the youngest person working at the airport at that time.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I believe financial transparency is a must. People have been asking for our county audits to be conducted by different firms. Right now the firm that is doing our audits have been doing so for years. I would advocate for a new firm to be brought in and have future audits be rotated between various firms in the future. Accountability is an absolute must as right now it seems there is little to none in existence. We have department heads in Catoosa County who ask for increased funding to give employees raises and yet the employees do not receive them. Sometimes that department head will create new positions with the increased funds and then come back the following year asking for more money again for the same purpose. Our commissioners need to demand accountability and ask where last year's money went and hold that department head accountable for not doing what they said previously.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

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Candidate

Catoosa County Commissioner Board District 3

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