Authored By Alina Hunter-Grah
In a joint announcement Thursday, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean. "[Dean] has the right kind of personality, intelligence and he has the experience and the knowledge it takes to be governor,” Berke said. Berke followed up by mentioning several of Dean’s initiatives he worked on during his time as Nashville mayor and praising Dean’s plans for education and health care. “Mayor Dean is someone who’s going to look out for all of us in Tennessee,” Berke said. Dean said that he was happy to receive the endorsement from Berke. “Chattanooga is a symbol of this entire country for building an economy based on the outdoors, their access to the internet and their entrepreneurial spirit,” Dean said. “Berke has just done a tremendous job with this city and I look forward to working with him on this campaign.” Dean also recently received an endorsement from his former Democratic gubernatorial primary opponent Craig Fitzhugh. Alina Hunter-Grah is a contributing writer. She is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in political science. Alina has over three years of journalism experience including time spent with CNN and 2nd & Church, a magazine based in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Alina at ahuntergrah@gmail.com or on Twitter @alinahuntergrah.
