For the past eight years, Republican Glenn Jacobs — a libertarian-leaning former pro wrestler — has been Knox County mayor. Because of term limits, his tenure ends this year.

Growth, infrastructure and rising debt obligations are key issues in the campaign.

Three sitting elected officials are vying for the Republican nomination to replace Jacobs — school board member Betsy Henderson and At-Large County Commissioners Larsen Jay and Kim Frazier.

Jay got a head start on the campaign and secured financial support from major Republican donors in 2024. After spending $194,043 during the second half of 2025, Jay as of Jan. 15 still had $333,817 on hand, by far the largest war chest among the candidates. Frazier raised $114,612 during the second half of 2025, though that includes a personal loan of $88,717 she made to the campaign, and had $94,725 on hand in mid-January. Henderson had $85,075 in her account on Jan. 15.

The county mayor manages the general government, but that’s a small  portion of the overall county government. The school system, the Sheriff’s Office and various fee offices such as Trustee, County Clerk and Register of Deeds operate independently of the mayor and Knox County Commission.

The mayor’s office does assemble the county budget for Knox County Commission’s approval, however. This year’s budget amounts to about $1.1 billion, but the mayor and commissioners have little wiggle room when it comes to spending. The school system accounts for about two-thirds of the budget — $700.5 million — and much of the $121.8 million public-safety budget is untouchable. The county’s debt service — $86 million and growing — must be paid before anything else.

How to cover those mounting debt payments, which are projected to balloon to about $110 million in fiscal year 2030-31, is a key issue in this year’s election. Knox County hasn’t seen an increase in the property-tax rate since 1999, though the population has grown 35.4 percent to more than 517,000 since 2000.

Knox County’s population continues to swell, so in addition to managing rising debt payments, the next mayor will have to figure out how to fund the infrastructure needed to accommodate the influx of new residents. A new Unified Development Ordinance, which will consolidate all land-use and zoning regulations in one document, should be in place before the next mayor takes office.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Beau Hawk, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, in the August general election. We will include Hawk’s profile in our general election coverage.

Kim Frazier

Frazier entered politics four years ago after advocating for responsible growth and upgrading infrastructure. Those issues are now at the center of the mayor’s race.

“The challenge we face is how to manage growth, address infrastructure and maintain essential services, and then do it all with fiscal discipline,” she said in a recent interview.

Before winning her countywide seat in 2022, Frazier co-founded a group called Hardin Valley Planning Advocates to push for better management of growth in fast-growing Northwest Knox County. She then cofounded Knox County Planning Alliance, now known as Knox Community Planning Alliance. KCPA brings together representatives of homeowners’ groups, conservationists and other community organizations to advocate for responsible planning.

She has continued that work on County Commission, helping to push through regulations that require developers to make infrastructure improvements as a condition of rezoning in some circumstances.

Such creativity is needed, according to Frazier, because the county’s debt-service obligations will prevent borrowing to pay for major projects such as schools, roads, public-safety facilities and infrastructure.

Frazier said the ballooning debt payments are expected and baked into the county’s financial planning, but the public needs to understand that “it prevents us from considering additional capital-improvement projects like our roads, like schools, like parks, emergency services, public facilities. It really limits us.”

She continued, “We’re not in a financial position to be proactive, so we can only be responsive when the numbers justify the investment.” 

Frazier said that as a conservative official, her goal is always to live within the county’s means and not raise taxes. That doesn’t preclude discussing the possibility of a property-tax increase, however.

“The problem is we’re trying to meet today’s needs and expectations with yesterday’s level of service, yesterday’s standards, yesterday’s staffing, yesterday’s budget. We will have an opportunity to have some very serious conversations when it is time to look at adjusting our certified tax rate (after this year’s property reassessment), and we have to be willing to discuss our challenges and also really discuss our debt, our identified needs, as well as our competing priorities, because there are many.”

Frazier, 53, grew up on a 120-acre farm in Huntsville, Ala. With a Junior Miss academic scholarship and some part-time jobs, she worked her way through the University of Alabama in Huntsville, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. 

Frazier has worked as a healthcare administrator, a human-resources director and a nonprofit consultant. She lives in Hardin Valley with her husband, Dr. Russ Frazier.

Frazier’s planning advocacy at Planning Commission and County Commission meetings gave her a grounding in planning and zoning regulations, earning the respect and sometimes resentment of developers.

The countywide network she developed over those years helped her win the 2022 GOP primary over a better-funded candidate backed by developers by more than 13 percentage points. Frazier went on to win the countywide general election by a similar margin.

She’s not intimidated by Jay’s fundraising prowess. 

“I’m getting a very warm reception from voters. They do see me as the most balanced and qualified candidate,” she said. “I hope that people see that I’m invested in them and that I will run the county just like I run my campaign, and that is, I don’t need a lot of money to be effective.” 

Returning to the theme of managing growth, Frazier said the Unified Development Ordinance is a long-needed update for the county’s land-use vision and policy framework. 

“It’s a good step in the right direction because we’re finally elevating our standards,” she said. “We’re looking at what level of services are needed to support additional growth, but at the same time trying to preserve the character of communities and everyone’s quality of life because you have to find a balance. … It’s how you manage growth that counts.”

Frazier said her background in community advocacy and as a Commissioner has given her a unique perspective and a deep understanding of how decisions are made.

“That makes me the most qualified, experienced and most balanced candidate on the ballot,” she said.

Betsy Henderson

While all three Republicans say they are conservative, Henderson has attempted to position herself as the only true conservative in the field, pledging that she will never propose a tax increase.

“I am the only candidate that has made a commitment to not raising taxes,” she said. “I think it’s pretty simple. It’s about prioritizing a few things, because if everything’s a priority, nothing is a priority. It’s about cutting back and pushing for a lean, efficient budget that prioritizes needs over wants and just eliminating that wasteful spending.”

Henderson acknowledged the county’s growing debt burden but said prioritizing roads, good schools and safe neighborhoods while cutting spending in other areas if necessary would enable the county to move forward.

She has proposed forming a Spending Taxpayer Accountability and Reform (STAR) Commission to identify areas where spending can be cut, citing funding for nonprofits as one possible target.

“This is going to be a group of small-business owners and operators who know how to balance a budget, how to deliver results and provide services at an affordable price,” Henderson said. “I want that committee to really do a top-to-bottom review of our spending, of our debts, of the operations, so that way they can identify those places to cut back.”

Henderson was first elected to the school board in a 2020 special election to complete Terry Hill’s unexpired term after Hill won a County Commission seat. She was reelected in 2022. She said her time on the school board representing Northwest Knox County has prepared her for being mayor.

She was an outspoken critic of public-health mandates imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing to lift the board’s mask mandate in 2020-21 and leading the board’s fight against a court-ordered mask mandate. 

A school-choice advocate, she drew criticism in 2025 when she testified in favor of school vouchers before a Tennessee House education committee, despite the board’s opposition to the program.

“I clearly do not back away from challenges,” she said. “When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. Promises made, promises kept over the past five years of my service on the school board.”

She noted that she was on the search committee that recommended hiring Jon Rysewyk as superintendent, and that literacy and math scores have increased during the past four years.

“People always know where I stand,” Henderson said. “I’m always honest about what I’m going to do, and then I deliver those results.”

Henderson, 47, grew up in Louisville, in Blount County, and attended Maryville city schools. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a double major in journalism and public relations, and while in school she had a junior-year internship in the office of then-U.S. Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan. After graduation, she worked for Duncan and Florida Rep. Connie Mack IV in Washington, D.C. She and her husband moved back to Knox County in 2014.

Henderson became active as a parent volunteer and room mom (the Hendersons have two children) and eventually became president of the Hardin Valley Elementary PTO before running for the 6th District school board seat.

Unlike her opponents, she has not run or won a countywide campaign, but she said her grassroots effort is strong. She has knocked on doors, attended meet-and-greet events in people’s homes and conducted a tour of small businesses. Henderson also said people from all over the county would come to her to ask for help with school issues “because they like what I stand for.”

Henderson said that she’s proud of her team’s fundraising efforts and that she knows what she needs to get her message out. She said the race is about vision and leadership, and she’s excited about leading Knox County into the future. 

“Knox County is at a crossroads and we need strong conservative leaders in these positions to keep our taxes low, ensure smart growth and make sure that we’re preserving our freedoms and way of life,” Henderson said.

Larsen Jay

According to Jay, there’s no better time than the present to serve Knox County because of the challenges and opportunities facing the community.

“Knox County needs great leaders to step forward at critical times, and I’m willing to put my name in the hat and apply for the job as Knox County’s next CEO,” he said.

Jay said the biggest challenges facing Knox County are its strained infrastructure, aging population and rising debt. He said his approach would be business-like, not political.

“I’m applying to be the next CEO of the county, and what you do as a new CEO is you assess your income, your expenses and the things you prioritize,” he said. 

Jay said he would transfer underutilized assets such as empty land and unused buildings to the private sector. He also said he would take a zero-based budget approach to reduce waste.

Jay’s business-like approach to the budget would extend to the property-tax rate.

“We don’t have to increase our tax rate, but we also have to find a way to not reduce it to a point where we can’t pay our bills,” he said. “There’s a fine balance between the two, and until we go through the next reassessment this summer, we won’t know how that lands.”

Jay, who has served two terms on County Commission, said he’s proud of his tangible, practical accomplishments that people see every day. As examples he cites the Beaver Creek watershed cleanup, which has improved water quality and recreational access on North Knox County’s primary waterway; work he’s done to bolster mental-health care; and the Junior Commissioner Civics Leadership Academy, which provides an introduction to public service to high school juniors and seniors.

Jay said that early in his campaign he and his team met with nearly 850 people at 48 small-group listening sessions all around the county, from Strawberry Plains to Farragut and from Halls to South Knoxville. They told him they want better infrastructure, raises for deputies and great neighborhood schools.

“I asked them, ‘Are you willing to invest in those things?’ And every single person said, ‘Yes.’” he said. “They have seen (that) this approach of ‘spend no money and cut yourself into prosperity’ isn’t working.”

Jay said he would work with state officials on infrastructure improvements, particularly roadways. He is proposing that the county take over some minor state routes.

“Let us do it,” he said. “You deed the road back over to us. Give us a block grant for 80 percent of what it would cost us to do it. Let us go to work on infrastructure together.”

Jay was born on an Air Force base in Texas and grew up mostly in Syracuse, N.Y. He came to Knoxville to attend the University of Tennessee, from which he holds a bachelor of arts and a master’s in business administration.

After falling off a ladder on a roof in 2007 and nearly dying, he was inspired by his long recovery in the hospital to establish and run the nonprofit Random Acts of Flowers, which recycles flowers from various special events and other sources and delivers them to people in local hospitals.

Jay also worked in the film industry for 15 years and now, at age 51, is director of business alliances for the accounting firm PYA. He and wife Adrian have two sons and live in West Knoxville. 

Jay said being a County Commissioner is a great training ground for a county mayor. He said he’s served on every committee possible, including most recently the committee overseeing the transition of the Juvenile Service Center to the Juvenile Court judge. He said having a robust relationship with commissioners is important.

“You’re not always going to agree, and every vote is going to be different, but the mayor and Commission have to be unified together with a common vision.”

Jay said it’s important to be engaged with people from all parts of the county, and he’s pouring his considerable campaign resources into reaching them. 

He said he’s not talking about what he might do but showing people what he’s done and what he hopes to do next. 

“If you look at my resume and you look at my experience and you look at my education and you look at my private-sector experience, nonprofit and government, and you look at the accomplishments of what I’ve actually delivered over the last eight years, it’s not even a close comparison,” he said. “I think that when people look at who would you want as your next CEO, then there’s a clear choice, and I’m ready to go to work.”