Mayors, sheriffs voted out of multiple East Tenn. counties

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A new mayor and sheriff will be taking office in two East Tennessee counties after both incumbents were voted out Thursday night.

The current Campbell County Mayor E.L. Morton will be replaced by Jack Lynch. Morton received 2,648 votes which fell short of the 3,691 votes for Lynch.

Lynch, the incoming mayor, was born in LaFollette. He earned his undergraduate degree at Lincoln Memorial University and his master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He previously told WVLT News that if elected, he wants to improve services like first responders and sanitation by making them efficient and professional.

However, the sheriff will also be changing. Eddy Wayne Barton II received more votes than incumbent Robbie Goins. The results were 4,337 to 3,667.

Barton lives in High Cliff, an area in the county. He went to East Tennessee State University and then started a career in law enforcement. He previously told WVLT News if he was elected, he wanted to establish a strong relationship with his coworkers.

Campbell Co. Sheriff Goins faced recent controversy on social media after a video was circulated about how deputies trained their K-9. The sheriff said he placed the deputy on leave and an investigation is ongoing into the incident.

Goins made a statement following the news:

Another county in East Tennessee followed suit and will have two new incoming leaders.

Scott County Mayor Jeff Tibbals will be leaving his office after citizens voted in Jarried Jeffers. The results were 3,847 to 2,858.

Jeffers is from Robbins, Tennessee and studied at Roane State Community College and Tusculum College.

He previously told WVLT News that if he was elected, he wanted to clean up the county, including managing litter. He also plans to support emergency services workers by getting better equipment, more training opportunities, better funding and working on ways to retain and recruit personnel.

Sheriff Ronnie Phillips will also be leaving his office as Brian Keeton moves in. The results were 4,220 to 2,595.

Keeton was born and raised in Scott County.

He previously told WVLT News that if he was elected, he wanted to grow relationships with neighboring law enforcement agencies, train and educate all officers, be available to the citizens and bring back public confidence and trust in law enforcement. Keeton also wants to update officer equipment, fight against drugs, and place officers on patrol in all neighborhoods, especially the rural ones.

Scott County residents took to social media to express their worries about the Scott Co. sheriff and how he handled a recent controversial post, including a video that circulated which appeared to show multiple deputies harassing a woman. Phillips announced that the deputies had been reprimanded but did not go into detail.

Views more election results here.

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