Travis Honeycutt is picked for Norris City Council seat
Norris City Recorder Sandy Johnson swears in Travis Honeycutt to serve on the Norris City Council. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Honeycutt, who said he has lived in Norris for two years, was one of four people who submitted letters seeking the council post to the city manager’s office by the Dec. 1 deadline the council set at its Nov. 10 meeting.
The other three candiates were Zach Cross, Randall “Randy” Kurth, and Alex Munro.
All four were given the opportunity to speak before the council made its decision.
Councilwoman Loretta Painter, who made the motion to appoint Honeycutt to the seat, said she believed that all four candidates were qualified.
But she said she based her selection of Honeycutt based on whom she felt offered the best leadership potential, who “could eventually become mayor.”
Her motion was seconded by Mayor Chris Mitchell.
Councilman Chuck Nicholson voted with Painter and Mitchell to appoint Honeycutt.
Councilman Bill Grieve chose not to vote on the motion, making the vote effectively 3-1 for Honeycutt.
Grieve said the choice was a hard one to make, but that he favored Kurth.
The selection was made at the beginning of the meeting, and Honeycutt was sworn in immediately afterward by City Recorder Sandy Johnson, and took his seat at the council table.
Honeycutt said in his letter to the city manager that he has “led high-stakes federal business operations, worked with lobbyist organizations and worked to have bills passed in congress ... most recently managing a ~$100 million portfolio that delivers mission-critical solutions to the U.S. Department of Energy (including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex), the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, Tennessee Valley Authority and NASA.”
“In this capacity, I have overseen complex contracts, navigated stringent federal compliance requirements, balanced multimillion-dollar budgets, and built enduring partnerships with federal leaders in Oak Ridge and beyond,” Honeycutt said.
Cross said he is a mechanical engineer with experience in “environmental regulation compliance.”
Kurth, a retired project manager and professional geologist, is a past president of the Norris Lions Club.
Munro, also a mechanical engineer, is serving his second term on the Norris Planning Commission.