Williams, Chauncey, Cagle, Cassidy Take Oath of Office; Witt Appointed to Council

Photo by Justin Young – The new East Ridge City Council was seated Monday night at City Hall. From left, Jacky Cagle, Esther Helton, Brian Williams, Aundie Witt and Mike Chauncey.

It was a big night at City Hall, Monday, as East Ridge inaugurated its new Mayor, Council and Court Clerk.

Brian Williams took the oath of office as the new Mayor. Mike Chauncey and Jacky Cagle were sworn in as councilmen, while Patricia Cassidy took the oath for her second term as East Ridge City Court Clerk.

Once the new city council was seated, it appointed Aundie Witt to a two-year term as councilwoman, filling the seat of Williams. The council selected Esther Helton to serve as Vice-Mayor, who the voters also elected to serve in Nashville in the Tennessee House representing District 30.

Williams, who had served two years on the council, opted to run for mayor when Brent Lambert decided not to seek a third term. He handily defeated Jim Bethune, who was making his second bid for the mayor’s seat.

Chauncey, a newcomer to the council, had previously served the city as Chairman of the East Ridge Planning Commission. Witt made a bid for the council in the Municipal Election finishing third. Cagle was returned to office by the voters for a second term.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.