CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Incumbent Property Assessor Erinne Hester has won re-election, defeating former employee Caitlin Castle-Swaffer for the Republican nomination. With no opponent in August, Hester will keep the office.
“I’ve had such a peace about this race the last couple of weeks, and I felt good about the outcome,” Hester told Clarksville Now, about a race that sometimes grew contentious. “All the parts of this have been fantastic – the not-so-great and the great parts – because that’s how you appreciate things through the hard stuff. I am looking forward to looking at the office with new eyes.”
Castle-Swaffer said she was disappointed, but she’s proud of her campaign and her team. “For someone who, it’s their first time out and not being in the political sphere, the political world, I’m proud of what we did. I set to make change and prove that there needed to be change, and I think we did that.”
Hester said she ran on a record of qualifications and awards, along with the work her team has done over the years. “I think that’s what the voters find important, that proven success,” she said.
Over the coming year or two, a lot of changes could be coming, and Hester is preparing to help the community navigate those. “There is a lot of conversation about local property tax taking place in the state Legislature this year. It is important to have someone in the office that has the experience to help guide Montgomery County through whatever the General Assembly decides what they are going to do with local property tax,” Hester said.
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Castle-Swaffer told Clarksville Now she might run for the position again, and next time she’ll be better prepared.
“I learned this all on the fly. I didn’t have a campaign team. … I thought this was something I needed to do on my own. Going forward, I know where those weaknesses are, and I’ll address those,” Castle-Swaffer said. “I’ve got a road map at this point. Trial by fire. I learned it and now I’ve got four years to perfect it and come back, because I do think we need a change.”
About the candidates
The property assessor is an elected Montgomery County office. The assessor leads the Property Assessor’s Office, which determines the value of a each property in the county for taxation purposes.
Castle-Swaffer worked as a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy, then in many roles at the Assessor of Property’s Office. She currently work at Freedom Title Services as a closer, specializing in remote online closings while also addressing mapping and title issues. She is the second vice chair of the Red River Republican Women’s Club and is chair of Agriculture in the Classroom for the Montgomery County Farm Bureau Women’s Group.
Hester, the incumbent, has served as assessor since 2013. Prior to being elected, Hester served as the Montgomery County director of Accounts and Budgets from 2008-2013, where she earned the Certified Governmental Accounting Manager designation. Hester has a degree in accounting from Austin Peay State University. Among her state and community roles, she serves as immediate past president of the Tennessee Assessor’s Association and was recently invited to serve on the Accounting Program Advisory Board of the APSU College of Business.
Jordan Renfro, Christian Brown and Lily Russell contributed to this report.
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