Tennessee Voter Guide: A look at candidates in the Wilson County Aug. 1 general election

• Wilson County School Board's District 1 and District 5 seats are contested races for the Aug. 1 election.
• Assessor of Property office contested between incumbent Stephen Goodall and challenger Derrick Hammond.

Wilson County voters will soon be heading to the polls.

Two school board seats and the county assessor of property are all contested races in the upcoming general election, scheduled for Aug. 1.

Here is a look at the candidates in those contested races.

Wilson County School Board District 1

Carrie Pfeiffer, Independent: Pfeiffer, 47, and the incumbent is a professional educator by training, with more than 13 years experience. She is currently a homemaker.

“I initially ran for school board because I was frustrated with my own board member’s leadership on serious issues from the budget to building maintenance to transportation, not to mention rigorous academics,” Pfeiffer said.

Rapid growth challenges, a safe school environment and rigorous academics are leading issues for Pfeiffer.

Gregory Hohman, Republican: Hohman, 51, is a civil engineer and small business owner who moved to Wilson County from California about three years ago.

Hohman believes there are warning signs that lessons on critical race theory, gender confusion and pedophilia he believes were incorporated into curriculum in California are making their way to Tennessee and Wilson County.

“I am willing to stop the direction we are heading before it mirrors California and their failing school systems,” Hohman said.

Wilson County School Board District 5

Brittany Ash, Democrat: Ash, 34, works as the director of children's services at a foster care agency for children with special needs and is a lifelong resident of Wilson County who attended Wilson County Schools for K-12.

Higher profile issues like vouchers, arming teachings, culture wars and book bans along with less publicized challenges like bus driver shortages, teacher turnover, cell phones in schools and space capacity are all on Ash’s radar.

Donnie Self, Republican: Self, 50, is a former law enforcement officer who became a teacher at Watertown High School from 2015-2019 and now owns and operates Advantage Roofing Contractors while also working as a real estate agent.

School safety, teacher compensation and retention along with overall district-wide school growth are leading issues for Self, who believes education will be a fundamental factor to determine whether Wilson County prospers or declines in the years ahead.

Aaron Fulcher, Republican: A 21-year-old "conservative" candidate has qualified as a write-in and will be eligible for District 5 school board seat, but will not appear on the ballot.

Fulcher is a 2021 graduate of Lebanon High School and currently attends Cumberland University in Lebanon.

“I know what it’s like to be a student and that is a different perspective and opens a different way to view things,” Fulcher said.

Assessor of Property

Stephen Goodall, Republican: Goodall, 44, is the incumbent who has held the seat since 2016 for a county he says has more than 70,000 parcels of property.

Recording property improvements to the tax roll immediately so everyone has an accurate appraised value is a leading component to the job. Goodall points to experience and asks to train other counties on programs at the request of the State Division of Property Assessments.

Derrick T. Hammond, Democrat: Hammond, 49, is a senior tax manager with about 30 years of experience in property assessment with multiple certifications.

Feedback Hammond has received include a better understanding on how the assessor’s office directly affects residents as citizens, and modernization of the office with “the best appraisal tools the industry has to offer. This means equitable assessments that ensure all property owners pay their fair share of taxes.”

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.