City & town

Mayor, City of Clarksville

Vote for: 1
Candidates: 3
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The mayor leads the city of Clarksville, presides over its city council and represents it.

Nonpartisan; the sample ballot lists each candidate as an Independent Candidate. Mayor Joe Pitts is not on the ballot.

Candidates Compare by issue

Mark Riggins

No party listed

The gist

Supports developers funding the infrastructure their projects require
Supports recruiting commercial business to grow city revenue
Proposes using block-grant funds to lower new home costs
Supports fully staffing and equipping police and fire
Supports a stormwater utility funded by its own rates

More about Mark

View sources (2)

Supports developers funding the infrastructure their projects require
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“identify the infrastructure improvements it requires and how it will be funded, so existing residents aren't left bearing the cost of growth”
Supports recruiting commercial business to grow city revenue
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“Recruiting quality commercial business increases our tax base, naturally generating additional revenue.”
Proposes using block-grant funds to lower new home costs
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“the city can use Community Development Block Grant funds to offset water and sewer utility and sidewalk construction costs”
Supports fully staffing and equipping police and fire
Issues — Riggins for Mayor
Campaign website · Mark Riggins for City Mayor · rigginsformayor.com
“This policy prioritizes fully staffing and properly equipping police and fire emergency response teams”
Supports a stormwater utility funded by its own rates
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“Study results should propose a stormwater rate structure and an estimated tax rate reduction equaling the cost of pre-study stormwater efforts.”

Wanda Smith

No party listed

The gist

Pledges to prioritize roads, sidewalks and drainage by need
Pledges a comprehensive review of city spending
Supports down-payment help and HUD money for affordable homes
Supports requiring new development to manage its own runoff
Supports continued city funding for local schools

More about Wanda

View sources (2)

Pledges to prioritize roads, sidewalks and drainage by need
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“We will prioritize the roads and pedestrian infrastructure, including street lighting, sidewalks, drainage systems, and traffic corridors based on safety, growth, and need.”
Pledges a comprehensive review of city spending
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“I will conduct a comprehensive review of city spending/budget, eliminate waste, prioritize essential services”
Supports down-payment help and HUD money for affordable homes
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“I will ensure that our HUD grant money is used for affordable homes, expand down-payment assistance”
Supports requiring new development to manage its own runoff
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“every new development must be required to manage its own runoff so it does not push water onto neighboring properties”
Supports continued city funding for local schools
Clarksville mayor candidates on sales tax for schools, smart growth, amusement park
News coverage · Clarksville Now · May 8, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“We should continue to support the schools financially to ensure that our students have a great education”

Brian Zacharias

No party listed

The gist

Supports more in-house street work by city crews
Proposes cutting duplicate city and county administration
Supports easing rules for small homes and townhomes
Supports tying city incentives to wages and benefits
Supports a funded stormwater division under Gas and Water

More about Brian

View sources (1)

Supports more in-house street work by city crews
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“I will also build on what the Street Department has started doing in-house by buying equipment and hiring crews to do more of it”
Proposes cutting duplicate city and county administration
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“I will work with the county to cut duplicate administration and put responsibility and funding where it belongs.”
Supports easing rules for small homes and townhomes
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“remove the obstacles that make small homes, townhomes, and mixed-use projects harder to build than another large-lot subdivision”
Supports tying city incentives to wages and benefits
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“we should only hand out city incentives to companies that commit to wages and benefits worth the public money”
Supports a funded stormwater division under Gas and Water
Where do they stand? Mayor of Clarksville candidates on streets, taxes, flooding
News coverage · Clarksville Now · Sep 27, 2026 · clarksvillenow.com
“A stormwater division under Gas and Water makes sense structurally, but only if we fund and staff it.”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 7 issues covered in this race.