The Mountain District
The decisions were already being made. Nobody was reporting back.
Why I'm Running
"Christina, you have great ideas. You are just thinking too far ahead."
— Mayor Donald Prater, Townsend
That was the moment I decided to run.
Why This Place Matters
Orange on Saturday. Music on the lawn. Neighbors who know your name. I was not from here — but I recognized immediately what I had been missing. I built my life around it. My daughter grew up in it.
And I can feel it slipping.
That is why I am running. Not for a title. Not for politics. To grab it back.
The Beginning
It did not start with an election.
Christina in Townsend — this is where she lives, and what she is running to protect.
I went to the meetings because no one else was asking the questions. I attended so consistently that Joe Barrett of the East Tennessee Development District gave me a nickname: "Oh, here's the concerned citizen."
That presence became formal. Secretary of CPAC for three years. Appointed to the Townsend Planning Commission in 2025. In the room, on the record — long before I held a title.
The Contrast
I Asked for Partnership. Then I Did the Work Myself.
During critical moments, I reached out to our county commissioner, Jeff Jopling. He was always kind. But when the work needed doing — attending meetings, asking why the Blount County Land Use Plan was still incomplete three years after it was due — I was the one doing it.
There was no answer. Not a delayed one. Not a partial one. No answer.
So I went to Nashville. Filed public records requests with TDEC, TDOT, and Blount County. Built an archive so residents could see for themselves.
While I was doing that, Commissioner Jopling was serving on the SMTDA board for six consecutive years — the tourism authority that later pursued a state bill to strip Townsend of its ability to govern its own land. Their CEO told a public meeting in October 2024: "There is no going back." Months later, the de-annexation bill was introduced.
The question voters deserve to ask:
When your commissioner sits on the board of the organization that wants to develop your town — for six years — whose interests is he representing?
The Documented Record
Jeff Jopling served on the SMTDA board of directors for six consecutive years (2019–2024).
What Presence Looks Like
The Townsend Christmas Parade
I was at the Townsend Christmas parade. Commissioner Jopling was there too — riding in a horse-drawn carriage through the community he represents. He did not introduce himself as the district's commissioner. He did not ask for a vote. The sign on the carriage advertised his business.
When I saw Jeff at that parade, I knew I had to run.
Not because of anger. Because of clarity. The seat was being used as a background for his brand — not as a responsibility to the people who live here. And someone needed to say so.
Townsend Christmas Parade · An election year. The sign on the carriage advertises his business. · Source: Jeff Jopling / Facebook
The sign on the carriage advertises his business — not his role as District 8B Commissioner.
The seat is a background for his brand.
His commissioner Facebook page went silent after June 2019. Nearly six years without a single post — while $646 million in infrastructure moved through this district. The page came back to life only after Christina entered the race.
Jeff Jopling — Blount County Commissioner Facebook page. Last substantive post as commissioner: June 21, 2019. Re-election post appeared after Christina Delaney entered the race.
The Public Record
71% — Fourth from the Bottom
The Blount County Commissioner attendance record covers September 2022 through February 2026 — the period during which $646 million in infrastructure was moving through this district. Commissioner Jopling's total attendance: 71.0%. That places him fourth from the bottom of the entire 21-member commission. The county average is 82.3% for Commission meetings and 81.0% for Workshops. He is 11 points below average on the meetings where votes are cast.
This is not a political claim. It is the county's own data, posted publicly by a fellow commissioner candidate.
Official Blount County Commissioner Attendance · 9/1/2022–2/19/2026 · Source: Roy "Hoot" Shields, District 8 Commissioner Candidate
By the numbers
Jopling total attendance
71.0%
4th from bottom
Commission average
82.3%
11 pts above Jopling
Period covered
3.5 yrs
Sep 2022–Feb 2026
A Pattern
No Solution Is the Solution
For years, I pushed for a simple piece of meeting technology — under $3,000, would have made every public meeting fully accessible and recorded. The ETDD rep was saying it. The planning consultants were saying it. Every proposal was rejected. Instead, a person was hired to manually tape meetings — more expensive, less reliable. The important ones were not always among them.
I finally understood: no solution is the solution.
Because a solution means transparency. And transparency was the one thing that was never actually wanted.
The Stakes
$646 Million. No Briefing. No Vote.
What was happening in Townsend was happening across all of District 8B — on a much larger scale. Over $646 million in public infrastructure funds are moving through this district. The Pellissippi Parkway Extension right-of-way timeline was moved from 2032 to this year — with no county commission briefing, no press release, no notice to affected landowners.
The answer is not to blame the people in the room. The answer is to put someone in the room who already did the homework.
What I'm For
This Place Deserves More Than a Tourist Trap
I am not anti-growth. The Dancing Bear, The Social, the Filmores' Abbey, the Headricks' Highland Manor — businesses that fit the landscape and give back. That is the model. I am running for something, not just against something.
Community Survey — 791 Respondents
In 2024, the Townsend Community Plan Advisory Committee surveyed residents. 791 people responded — nearly the entire population. Their top values: peacefulness, no commercialization, no overdevelopment, small-town feel. They said repeatedly and unprompted that they value Townsend because it is not Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge.
Then Bryan Daniels stood before the CPAC and said: “There is no going back.”
Read the full Corridor research report →Clean Water
The Little River is Blount County's primary drinking water source. It is already being monitored for the effects of development. That is not a coincidence — it is a warning.
Mountain Music & Heritage
Mountain music is having a moment nationally. We are sitting on top of it. Rocky Branch is keeping that tradition alive — people drive four hours to play with them. Make this a place of history and sound, not just a place you pass through.
Historic Designation for Townsend
A National Historic District designation would give the community real tools to manage development pressure — and say clearly: this place has value beyond what you can extract from it.
Basic Services for Families
Families in this district cannot find daycare. The county has been focused on event venues while working families navigate real gaps. That is a priorities problem, and it is fixable.
The commissioner's job is to fight for this place — not to sit on the board of the organization that's changing it.
My Commitment
Present. Proactive. Protecting.
I will show up. I will ask questions. I will make sure residents know what is happening before decisions are made — not after.
That has not been happening. I am running to change it.
I will always show up.
I will always fight for the Mountain District.
I will always tell you what I find.
Support the Campaign
Help Christina reach every voter in District 8B before May 5.