Candidates: GOP Primary to decide property assessor
Tina Householder Marshall is running for Knox County Property Assessor against incumbent John Whitehead.
Whitehead and Marshall are running in the Republican Primary, and with no August Democratic or Independent opposition, the race will be determined by early voting through Tuesday, Feb. 25, and on Tuesday, March 3, when the County Primary takes place.
Marshall
Marshall, a 1983 Farragut High School graduate, began campaigning in earnest just after the start of the new year and has been putting out signs, hosting meet-and-greet events and appearing at partisan and bi-partisan meetings throughout the county.
She has more than 25 years in the construction business, “building homes from the ground up throughout Knox County,” she said. Marshall also worked for Whitehead in the Property Assessor’s office — and continued to work there even after Whitehead left due to term limits.
Currently, Marshall is a senior specialist at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, where she has worked for eight years, and where “they have taught me to be a leader,” she told Concord-Farragut Republican Club during a gathering of candidates Thursday, Feb. 6. She was one of 13 speakers.
“This is my passion, and I have wanted to do it for a long time,” Marshall said of pursuing the property assessor post. “I know property well and am very experienced.”
Marshall said her campaign is based on “strong leadership,
my skills and knowledge,
implementing technology and new energy I would bring to the position.”
Marshall said technology is a key specialty for her, emphasizing she has implemented two new computer systems in her Oak Ridge office.
Marshall’s mother still lives in Farragut, and she has two grown children, Paige and Seth.
For more information, visit Tina Marshall for Knox County Property Assessor on Facebook.
Whitehead
Whitehead is a Knoxville native, having grown up in the Carter community. He began working in the Property Assessor’s office in 1972, following a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, and worked there for 28 years before being property assessor in 2000.
He served two terms, then term limits put him in the private sector for eight years before he decided to run again in 2016.
“A lot of people called me and asked me run again, so I did,” he said. “And, in the meantime, I helped a lot of taxpayers, helping (by) representing 18 homes in the appeals process — including Ms. Marshall’s.”
Whitehead is the only property assessor in the state with the Certified Assessment Evaluator designation, granted by the International Association of Assessing Officers.
From the Tennessee Board of Equalization, he has professional certifications as Tennessee Master Assessor, Assessment Level V and as a Tennessee Certified Assessor.
“I love the job and I love helping people,” Whitehead said. “I also love helping to solve problems.”
He also noted a new computer system is being installed in his office, which would be the first in the county to be cloud-based.
“I hope to stay and make sure it is installed properly and done right,” he added.
Whitehead and his wife, LeVera, have three children and four grandchildren.
