This year’s race for Knox County property assessor boils down to a choice between an experienced officeholder and a political newcomer.

The winner of this year's contest will oversee the 2026 countywide property reassessment.

With current Property Assessor John Whitehead prevented from running for reelection because of term limits, the seat is open.

Former Property Assessor Phil Ballard, a Republican, is seeking the post he previously occupied for two terms. If he wins, it will be the second time he has followed Whitehead in the office — he was first elected in 2008, when newly enforced term limits mandated by the county charter took effect and prevented Whitehead from running again at that juncture.

Democrat Drew Harper is a small-scale property investor, church communications director and co-founder of a housing advocacy nonprofit. This is his first run for public office.

Harper didn’t face any opposition in the Democratic primary. Ballard defeated Chief Deputy Property Assessor Jackie Raley in the GOP primary by just 12 votes out of 42,584 ballots cast.

Ballard loaned his campaign $105,290 and spent nearly $112,000 in the primary, but as of March 31 his account had been depleted to the point of having just $4,471 on hand. Harper hasn’t raised or spent nearly the same amount of money — his campaign expenditures totaled less $1,000 at the end of March — but at $3,457 he had almost as much funding available.

The next property assessor will oversee a reassessment of property in the county in 2026. The value assigned to each property during that process, combined with the jurisdiction’s tax rate, determines the size of the owner’s property tax bill.

Here’s a look at the two contenders. (Ballard’s profile has been updated from our primary coverage.)

Drew Harper

Harper is counting on voters who want a fresh face with a new perspective in the property assessor’s office. Whitehead and Ballard have combined to hold the office for the past 24 years.

“Local government is the place where an individual can have the biggest impact. I saw a need in the assessor's office, or let's say, a choice,”  Harper said in a recent interview. “Republicans, independents and Democrats are kind of tired of the same couple of people passing the job back and forth, and they're ready for something different.” 

He said he would bring education, advocacy and vision to the office, with the most important being education because most people don’t know what the office does until property reappraisals are conducted every four years. He said understanding the role of the property assessor in conjunction with mayors and the legislative bodies can help people better understand their property taxes.

“The assessor's office isn't a policy position,” Harper said. “Land use and property taxes are the foundation of all policy, from healthcare to bridges. So the education piece is educating the public on what this office does, how it interacts with your day to day life, what it is and what it isn't.”

The last reassessment in 2022, which angered many residents because their property values — and hence their property tax bills — increased significantly, played an indirect role in Harper’s decision to run. He said it underscores the need to increase communication and educate the public ahead of the 2026 reassessment.

“We can start talking about that now and tell people what that is, what its function is in relation to the budget, so that when 2026 rolls around, it's not a surprise or scary,” Harper said. 

He downplayed the importance of Ballard’s experience.

“I have just as much experience as Phil did the first time he ran in 2008,” Harper said. “I've been involved in real estate since I was 19. I've been in that world of prices and cycles, and even though I don't have the in-office experience, I do have experience with how county offices like the assessor's office interact with real people in their day to day lives, whether you're remodeling a home or selling a home or buying a home.”

Part of that is the technical nature of the work and part of it is the experienced staff that handles the day-to-day operations in the office.

“I plan to work with the current staff,” Harper said. “I don't plan on firing anybody, because I think on the technical things, they've done a great job. It's implementing state law; there's not a lot of wiggle room. It's getting the number correct.”

Harper grew up on a family farm in Illinois near the Indiana border. His great-great grandfather served as road commissioner in Edgar County, Ill., and his father still works the farm.

Harper moved to Knox County to attend Johnson University — several pastors he knew in Illinois were alumni — and stayed after graduation. He currently works part time as a communications director for a local church and as a real estate investor. He recently moved into an apartment in a four-unit building he renovated on Washington Pike.

He also helped launch Yes! Knoxville, a nonprofit that focuses on smarter zoning, more housing options, multi-modal transportation and other efforts to strengthen neighborhoods.

For the most part, Harper said, people have been receptive to his message. 

“Most people are open to listening to what I have to say.” he said. “They understand that this is a local office that is not politically partisan. We're not making any policy, and that it's less about what letter is by your name (on the ballot) and more about who the right person is for the job.”

Phil Ballard

Ballard served two terms as property assessor and has been waiting eight years to make a run for the position again.

“I love the job,” he said. “I love the opportunity to help people. I’ve had a lifetime of  community service and the extension to politics, governmental service, was something I enjoyed and I was good at it.”

Ballard grew up in East Knox County, graduated from Carter High School, and still lives in the area with his wife, Cindy.

Ballard said voters should look at his performance leading the office from 2008 to 2016. Even though his tenure started at the beginning of the Great Recession, he won reelection — a 19-point victory over Whitehead in the GOP primary — in 2012.

“That was overwhelmingly a vote of confidence,” Ballard said.

He lamented that some of the technological improvements he brought to the office have been replaced or shelved, and said he would emphasize modernization and public service.

“The role of the assessor of property is important,” he said. “They become an advocate and ambassador for every member of the public.”

Ballard said a well-trained staff utilizing all their talents and training would create an environment of excellent customer service and help ensure fair and accurate assessments.

“When I was property assessor, we went from pad-and-pencil to the 21st century,” he said. “The technology and training come together.”

Ballard said a trained, data-driven staff would be able to assure the public that assessments are supported by market conditions.

Ballard was critical about how the 2022 assessment was handled. Unlike previous assessments, that year’s review came five years after the previous one, instead of the common four-year interval. 

“They originally said they did that because Mr. Whitehead did not want the next property assessor straddled with a reappraisal going into office,” he said. “That’s sheer nonsense because it still takes four years, no matter when it occurs.”

Ballard has asserted that employee turnover has been high in the office and vowed to improve retention. His strategy is to give employees more tools to do their jobs.

“I can’t sit here and tell you today, because I don't know the depth of the problem, but we will train people,” he said. “We're going to treat them where they don't want to leave.”

He said working for 30 years in the insurance industry prior to public service, plus his eight years running the assessor’s office, have given him the knowledge of how to blend technology and leadership.

“I know what to look for,” he said. “If you go in and take over an office and you don't know what you're looking for, you don't know how to get the data out of the system, then you're gonna get a lot of complaints and a lot of appeals.”

Ballard said voters should choose him because he would improve the technology and training in the assessor’s office. He said that if the property assessor does the job right, the other government agencies and branches will be able to function.

“I have the experience,” he said. “I did that in the roughest time. Nobody else has had that type of experience. But I want to do it for the public, because I care and you matter. And that's the main thing. I'm an advocate and ambassador for you.”