Councilwoman Pam Ladd shelves speculated run for Chattanooga mayor
Chattanooga City Councilwoman Pam Ladd has ruled out a run for next year's city mayor election.
Ladd, who represents District 3 on the council, had been openly considering a run for the position.
On Friday, the councilwoman told Nooga.com she made her decision last month to not pursue a candidacy in the race and would instead seek re-election to the post at City Hall she has held since 2009.
"I'd like to continue what I'm doing, representing District 3," Ladd said. "I appreciate the large amount of support I received, but I'm very happy to be doing what I do in District 3."
The councilwoman cited having to give attention to "serious family responsibilities" as a primary factor in her decision to not move forward with a candidacy.
Ladd, who in August told a group of supporters she would need to have at least "$150,000 in the bank" by the end of the month in order to declare a mayoral bid, said the financial benchmark played an "extremely small" role in her final decision. If she had pulled the trigger on a run, Ladd would have been going up against lone mayoral candidate and outgoing state Sen. Andy Berke, who has reported more than $383,000 cash-on-hand for his campaign.
"There was an effort underway to do major fundraising," she said. "We had goals that were attainable, and we were on our way to achieving those goals when I made the decision to remain where I am. I'm confident we would have had the fundraising and support to be a serious competitor."
Any funds raised by Ladd during her exploration of a mayoral bid will still be at her disposal in her campaign for re-election to City Council. So far, Ladd only has one declared challenger, Ken Smith.
Council and mayoral elections are in March.
