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 fifteenth question, and answers from those candidates who chose to respond.

What is the biggest opportunity for Sparta and White County?

KYLE GOFF: First, we have an opportunity to build back relationships, restore trust, and increase transparency. My team will remove barriers to obtain information with an interactive, comprehensive county website with documents easily accessible. The Executive page will be used as the hub for all county communication and updates. County commissioners will be informed and equipped with the necessary tools to act as conduits to their constituents. We will put people first and foster of collaborative culture where departments work together. We will explore shared services with the City of Sparta to avoid duplicated services. There is an opportunity to test down walls and build bridges to make sure specific groups do not carry more influence than others. We will broaden the coalition so all commissioners and stakeholders feel they are part of the process.

A significant opportunity presents itself with Parks and Recreation. Standing in the middle of White County we have more caves, waterfalls, and scenic overlooks per square mile than any area in the North America, 7 state parks within a 26 mile radius and over 100 miles of navigable waters and 39 miles of trails. Fall Creek Falls is the most visited state park in Tennessee. We will leverage these assets and coalesce them around a marketing plan that increases tourism and leads to sales tax revenue. The possibility of direct commercial flights and a hotel in the county, along with our short term rentals, has exceptional potential to increase visitor spending, which takes pressure off of our property owners.

Our county is blessed to have strong non-profits and community partners. A county of our size should be proud of our Library, our YMCA, youth sports leagues and many other exceptional institutions. We have 96 churches in White County. Government is rarely the answer and most often, the problem. My administration will ask when is it appropriate to lead, to partner or to convene. The Executive’s office can create a confluence of all community resources to better serve our people through taskforce, committees and special interest groups. Local government should build partnerships with community sports organizations and nonprofits. These partnerships can open the door for the government to help with resources to make sure our leagues are operating effectively and efficiently, whether it be financial, facilities, grant letter of recommendations, etc. Supporting youth programs (athletics or otherwise) makes sure young people have a safe and positive environment to grow, learn, and development.

We have the opportunity to be fiscally responsible and evaluate the budget line by line. We will move to a zero based budgeting approach for all line items that are not state mandated and fall under maintenance of effort. We will eliminate as much waste as possible and work with department heads to create a meritocracy and performance evaluation system when it comes to employee pay. Our team will seek out internal and external independent audits. Budgets, systems, policies, procedures, SOPs, job descriptions, and even entire departments will be evaluated. Property taxes have increased 54.8% in 12 years which should always be a last resort after all waste an inefficiencies have been dismantled.

There is an opportunity to recruit new industry and improve site readiness. This also has to be coupled with taking care of our current businesses, especially small, locally owned businesses that are the backbone of White County. That can mean small steps such as social media promotions and shop-local campaigns, or larger efforts such as targeted incentives, workforce support, and infrastructure improvements that help businesses grow and create jobs. We should pursue new investment while never forgetting the businesses that have already invested by sponsoring our youth sports teams and giving back to local nonprofits.

We have a significant opportunity to invest in the animal shelter. With only a $180,000 annual budget, the shelter needs additional funding. We should place Animal Control under the Sheriff’s Office so it aligns with emergency response needs, while creating a dedicated Shelter Director to oversee operations, volunteers, and adoptions. We must pursue a permanent location. We also need clear job descriptions, SOPs, volunteer vetting, and a county-supported adoption and marketing plan. Long term, we should explore transitioning to a nonprofit board model for stronger fundraising and community support, while the county increases funding and maintains the facility. We should also study innovative ideas like developing a 501c3 to support the daily operations of the shelter.

Finally, our greatest opportunity is our people. White County is filled with hardworking people who care deeply about this place and always rally when brought together around a shared vision.

PENNY WHALEY: White County biggest opportunity would be tourism and industrial expansion.  White county has many beautiful resources such as Waterfalls to help promote more tourism.  Industrial expansion is a key to bring more economical growth and jobs into our County.   White County is a great place to retire and have great quality of life. 

JOE HALLUMS: County Budget / Tax Reform with increased revenue driven from new industry/ job growth and supporting the local economy.

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