A snafu occurred at the Union County School Board meeting on Thursday, September 11, 2025. Board members re-elected Chairperson Jessica Brock in a 3-2 vote with Dr. Jimmy Carter absent and Charlie Hamilton not voting. The attorney advised the Board that the vote was valid. But further research revealed a state requirement of four votes to elect the Chairperson. So the Board will again be electing a chairperson in a special called meeting on September 29. Terry Washam was elected by acclamation as Vice-Chair and will serve as chairperson until the Chair is elected.

Vice Mayor Richard Phillips presided over the Plainview Board of Aldermen at the August meeting at the Plainview Community Building. Prior to the meeting, the board held a public hearing on Ordinance 168 to rezone Parcel 064.00 on Map 78 from R1 to AR1. During the meeting, the ordinance was approved on the second reading.

The Plainview election has buzzed with anticipation as a record 171 votes were cast in the early voting. For the first time in recent memory, two candidates, current Mayor Gary D. Chandler and Commissioner Lynn Beeler, ran for Mayor of Plainview. Three candidates, Keith Brantley, Gordon Bright and Rebecca Lock challenged for two seats. On election day, 206 voted.

With so much national attention on voting procedures and outcomes, I felt it timely to have a conversation with Deborah Viles, Administrator of Elections for the Union County Election Commission. She shares that the turnout of this election was the biggest turnout ever recorded in Union County, Tennessee. But before we get into the nitty-gritty of election regulations and procedures, let me introduce you to the woman responsible for seeing that our electoral process is carried out appropriately, because knowing and trusting her is key to trusting the process.

The results are in and the winners are the citizens of Union County. Why? This election was decided on the issues; the important issues facing all of Union County.

A common theme for candidates running for office in Union County this year is unity. Several candidates have incorporated unity in their campaign slogans. Martin Shafer’s campaign slogan is “The Unity Community”. Charlie Hamilton’s campaign slogan is “The Voice of Unity”. During early voting, the Reverend Gary Beeler led all the candidates in a unity of prayer each morning. Viewed more than 7,000 times over the past 10 days on Facebook, this prayer circle has become somewhat of a social media phenomenon.