Your Questions, Their Answers Election 2026

Over the past several weeks, readers have submitted questions they want answered ahead of the 2026 election—and we’ve taken those directly to your County Executive candidates.

Here is your thirteenth question, and answers from those candidates who chose to respond.

There are times when roles of the governing body are in opposition to one another.

What actions would you take to help resolve this matter?

DENNY WAYNE ROBINSON: Disagreements can occur in any governing body, but everyone involved shares the goal of serving the citizens. When issues arise, I support open discussion and respectful debate to work toward consensus. Keeping focus on what is best for the county helps move us forward together

KYLE GOFF: The County Executive serves as the Executive branch and the County Commission serves as the legislative branch for our county government. There are 14 commissioners, 2 from each district. That is a lot of diverse opinions with each person having a different background and perspective. Commissioners represent different areas of the county with different needs so disagreement will be natural. Conflict itself is not the problem. Poorly handled conflict is the problem. Conflict avoidance is not a virtue, conflict management is. My job as County Executive would be to turn disagreement into productive outcomes.

If people of character and competence are willing to speak up, they deserve to be heard and respected. Disagreement is often a gift. It can reveal blind spots, surface better ideas, and challenge us to improve decisions. Instead of treating differences as problems to eliminate, they should be treatEd as starting points for exploration and collaboration.

My approach would be to bring the right people to the table, define the issue clearly, keep discussions focused, and remove personalities from the process. I would encourage constructive feedback. Real leadership creates an environment where people can disagree professionally and still move forward together.

Disagreement sparks creativity. Many of the best solutions come when people with different perspectives work through constraints together. I would see complicated conflict as a barrier to entry.

We cannot expect perfect harmony but have to work with maturity and respect so that disagreements become opportunities to build a stronger county.

PENNY WHALEY: I would hold open discussions as well as possible debates on issues at hand. I would point out economic impact that may be caused on the county with certain decisions. I am a person of facts so I would do research to show governing body facts of the situation. 

JOE HALLUMS: I would lead and encourage the bodies to focus on the subject matter and not the person. They should present facts and not opinions and respectfully allow each other to speak. I would intercede before the situation gets too emotional. If required, call for a recess or private conversation.

The Main Street Journal - Sparta's 2026 Election Coverage is brought to you by Tennessee Credit.