Paduch, Adams win Johnson City Commission race

Former longtime commissioner Pete Paduch scored a resounding win in Tuesday night's Johnson City Commission election with newcomer Dave Adams narrowly securing the other open seat on the board Tuesday night. Paduch, who last sat on the commission nearly two decades ago and entered the race in the final hour, won with 5,776 votes (17.17%), according to the unofficial results. Adams won the second spot on the board with 4,401 votes (13.09%) in his second-ever city commission race — less than 100 votes from overthrown incumbent Jenny Brock. "I want people to tell me I'm wrong," Paduch said Tuesday night. "That's the best thing you can do for me … This is all about the people. That's the message I want to give you. This is about the people." Similar to Paduch, Adams has run his campaign on government transparency and accountability. "Just as I've said on the campaign trail, of course, number one is addressing the hot button issues, so we're gonna de-Flock Johnson City, and we're going to address data center regulations," Adams said Thursday night. "Beyond that, I believe we're going to restore trust in Johnson City" Of his win alongside Paduch — another self-proclaimed change-maker — Adams said he's hopeful for the city's future. "I think it's a new day for Johnson City politics," he said. "I believe that citizen concerns are going to be front and center and how we do business going forward." Paduch previously served on the commission for 12 years, beginning in 1995. He served as vice mayor from 1991 through 2001 and mayor from 2001 to 2005, finishing his third term in 2007. He's campaigned heavily on government accountability and is a frequent critic of the city's recently approved 28-cent property tax rate increase. Paduch is the owner of local manufacturer HomeTech Industries. Paduch picked up his petition days before the candidate filing deadline in August and said residents convinced him at the last minute to run again. Adams got his start in local politics early on, first running for city commission in 2018 at the age of 23. After taking a break to focus on his family, the father of two jumped back into the political arena this year, officially launching his municipal campaign in June. Adams currently works as a senior software engineer for VRChat, a virtual reality gaming platform. He also holds a bachelor's degree in computing from East Tennessee State University. Adams has been a consistent voice of opposition against Johnson City's use of Flock technology and has advocated for firm regulations for data center developments, as well as accountability and affordability initiatives. He was also appointed to the city's Housing and Community Development Advisory Board in July. The two commission-elects are set to take the spots of Vice Mayor Jenny Brock and Commissioner Whitney Goetz. JOHNSON CITY COMMISSION UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS Dave Adams: 4,401 (13.09%) Jenny Brock: 4,345 (12.92%) Sylvain Bruni: 4,294 (12.77%) Whitney Goetz: 3,612 (10.74%) Bud Hill Jr.: 579 (1.72%) Gary Kalogeros: 1,068 (3.18%) Tricia Korade: 1,491 (4.43%) Aaron Murphy: 4,320 (12.84%) Pete Paduch: 5,776 (17.17%) Bo Westmoreland: 3,747 (11.14%) Johnson City Commission-elects will be sworn into office the first Monday of December.