Carter County voters in the First District will be selecting a new County Commissioner this election year to finish out an unexpired term of office created by the resignation of former Commissioner Jerry Proffitt.
Three candidates are vying for the seat, including Robert “Bob” Robinson Jr, a Carter County native who returned to live here in 2001 after retiring from GTE Corporation’s World Headquarters in Irving, Texas. Since 2004, Robinson has worked on a part-time basis at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Elizabethton coordinating marketing-related projects.
“I don’t envision this to be a conflict of interest if elected to the Carter
County Commission since many elected government officials, locally, are already employed by state and county governments, including the Carter County Sheriff’s Department, as well as other state and locally funded organizations,” Robinson said.
One of the reasons Robinson said he chose to run for election to the County Commission is to provide residents of the First District with options.
“I think the voters need a choice, especially now with rising costs and the need to get the biggest return on investment,” Robinson said. “Tax payers are facing critical issues with rising costs, especially the rising cost of health care.”
Over the years, Robinson said he has been appointed to a number of committees and boards on the local, state and even national level. In the 1980s, Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush appointed Bob to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities to serve a nine-year term. Locally, Robinson has served on the Elizabethton-Carter County Local Emergency Planning Committee and the Elizabethton-Carter County Veterans War Memorial Committee, among other appointments.
“I believe my work experience in public and private sectors qualifies me to research and evaluate the ‘best return on investment’ for county government and residents of Carter County, including those on fixed income,” Robinson said. “I have also been involved in planning and implementing new business startup ventures and consolidating operations, nationwide, at the corporate level.”
“Getting the biggest return on investment four our tax payers would be my number one goal,” he added.
If elected, Robinson said he would like to see local government officials exhibit more teamwork.
“The biggest obstacle locally, I think, would probably be a lack of cooperation with the city and county governments working together to move Carter County forward with a common goal,” he said. “I want to work with other government officials to move Carter County forward with new jobs and job training.”