New Mayor on Police

New Chattanooga Mayor-elect Tim Kelly talks about changes he wants to make in policing and health services.

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Tim kelly was elected mayor of chattanooga last night in a decisive victory over opponent kim white.

Today, he outlined his vision for the city over the next four years.

News 12's kenan scott joins us live in studio with - - - - - - our top local story.

Emily, andrew mr. kelly tells me that there is much work to be done in the coming days as he prepares to begin his administration in the next six days.

In his victory speech last night, he laid out his agenda for chattanooga, which included police reform and the establishment of a department of community health.

Chattanooga mayor-elect tim kelly is fresh off an electoral victory, in which he defeated opponent kim white with nearly 60 percent of the vote in final unofficial results.

Today, mr. kelly outlined his vision for chattanooga over the next four years - and in light of recent events of police brutality, enacting local police reforms was on his to-do list.

"our city services will be responsive, cost effective, and will clearly communicate how, when and where things are going to get fixed.

I'll be looking for the best people to get the job done in this city, regardless of their party or affiliation.

In the coming months, my administration will facilitate a budget process that allocates our resources for the priorities that matter the most."

Kelly says that he supports community policing, and will work closely with chattanooga police chief david roddy.

And as far as his first order of business, mr. kelly says establishing a department of community health was at the forefront of his agenda.

He says that the city has already applied for a four million dollar grant to establish the department, and that it'll be important to address disparities in community health even in post-pandemic times.

"i'm going to launch an office of community health to inform and implement the city of chattanooga's covid-19 response efforts but also to address the longstanding racial disparities in health that existed long before this pandemic started.

The city will quickly transition to a recovery plan that will jumpstart our economy and make sure that good jobs and economic opportunity remain the cornerstone of our economic development strategy."

Addressing chattanooga's homeless population was also mentioned by kelly, and he says that more information will become available regarding his agenda in the coming days.

Live in studio, kenan scott news 12 now.