Meet your candidates: Bill Anderson for Cheatham County Mayor

In advance of the upcoming local elections, the Gazette sat down with candidates seeking office across Cheatham County to hear directly about their priorities, platforms and visions for the community. 

Each candidate discussed what sets them apart and how they compare to their opponents in contested races. Early voting for the county primaries is scheduled to take place April 15-30 leading up to Election Day on May 5, giving residents ample opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box. See the full early voting schedule here.

Bill Anderson is running as a republican for Cheatham County mayor. Anderson is running against incumbent Republican Kerry McCarver.

Since no democrats are running in the county mayoral election, only republicans will be able to vote. This is a new law in Tennessee as of 2024. The May 5 primary will decide who wins the office. 

Early voting will take place at Pegram City Hall. Kingston Springs residents will vote on election day at Harpeth High School. Pegram residents will vote on election day at Pegram City Hall.

Below, get acquainted with Anderson, who currently serves as the Mayor of Pleasant View, and delve into his perspectives on crucial issues through our comprehensive Q&A session.

KSG: Can you introduce yourself and explain why you’re running for county mayor? 

Anderson: I've been the mayor in Pleasant View for almost six years. I was also an alderman and vice mayor here for about six years as well. I was also a county commissioner in Cheatham County for eight years. So I've been in and around the political game of Cheatham County for a while. 

I actually was not planning on getting back into politics. My wife had cancer, and from her cancer diagnosis, I needed to stay home and take care of her. When the doctor gave her the 10 year all clear, we thought maybe it's time to get back in. 

My father worked in Cheatham County as a reserve police officer for many years. And I've lived here all my life. I grew up in East Cheatham on my grandmother and grandfather's farm. We all grew up working on the farm, growing tobacco, lifting hay, taking care of hogs. You name it, we took care of it. And sometimes you just have to be a servant. I feel like that's what good Lord wants me to do, is be a servant – whether it be in politics or I've coached high school football, junior pro football, middle school football, as well as basketball and softball. And just trying to serve, just trying to serve. 

KSG: Why do you want to run for county mayor? 

Anderson: As I’ve gone to events around the county, for the past two years, I've had people asking me about running. Why don't you run? Well, I'm a Bible believer, so my wife and I started talking about it, and we started praying about it, and we started talking to friends who we trusted, started talking to our preacher, and just said, ‘Is this where I need to be? Is this what I need to do?’ 

I just feel like it's time. I have nothing against the current mayor, but he's been there for 9 years, and it's just time for a change. Because I'm a football coach, if you look at a football team, you've got 22 players. All of them may be doing their job, and it may be great, but you have one that's fallen short – normally, it's quarterback. I think we need a new quarterback. It's just time for a new quarterback. It's time for somebody else to take the reins and run it for a little while and see how it goes. So that's why I'm running. 

I've been in the construction industry for over 40 years, and I'd have to leave if I am elected. It's worth it to give up 40 years of service doing what I've done to help the people of Cheatham County, because this is home. This is where I grew up. And whether you're here from here or not, it doesn't make any difference – you live here now. So this is your home, and all I want to do is try to protect it. 

We have two counties that are pushing into us right now, and if we're not careful, they're going to swallow us up. So we've got to push back a little bit, and in order to push back, we've all got to be on the same page. And right now, I don't think we are. I think we've got cities doing this and cities doing that, and I want to have unity in the county. Because if we all work together, we're all going to be better off. 

KSG: If you were to be elected, what would be your top priorities? 

Anderson: My first priority, number one is taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes. And that's probably the most important thing right now that I would focus on. I have a motto I say, and I call it the three S’s, and it's seniors, soldiers and students. And I think those three people need protection. How do we protect them? I'm not saying wipe out their taxes, but I'm saying, if there's a way we can work to offset some of their taxes, that's what we need to start looking at. Can we do it? I don't know, but I'd like to get in there and roll my sleeves up and try.

I just want to try to make us all better, whether it be taxes, whether it be improvements or communication. Because right now, I don't know what the county is doing. I have no clue. And I guarantee if you go talk to the mayors in Pegram and Kingston, they have no clue. And that should never happen. Every mayor in this county should know what's going on within the county and within each other's cities. It's how we get better. We all work together.

I would start out at least every month or every other month, sitting down at a round table and saying, ‘Okay, guys, what can we help you with this month? Where are you falling short? What can we do to make you better, make you stronger?’ 

That's what they do in Sumner County. And I was amazed when we went to Sumner County to visit how in tune the mayors and the county mayor were. They all had a plan. They all had a purpose. They all knew where they were going and how they were going to get there. And I just think that's the way it should be.

KSG: In your 20+ years of politics in Cheatham County, do you have any accomplishments you're proud of? 

Anderson: I have a lot of successes and achievements I'm proud of. Pleasant View community park where we're building tennis courts. Another thing, when I came on board our employees’ insurance went up tremendously. I gave up some of my pay package to pay for the employees’ insurance, because at the end of the day, they're important to us, and their insurance is important to me because they have families who need it.

I would just like to see us all prosper, and us all work together for a common goal. We need to all work together to make sure that the people that are wanting to come to Cheatham County are coming for a good reason. They're coming to benefit the citizens of this county, and they're a long term company 

Since I've become mayor in Pleasant View, we have not approved a single subdivision. We've concentrated on our commercial business, because that's what pays the bills. Pleasant View is a no tax town. We don't collect city tax. We operate totally on what we collect in sales tax and what we get from the government for the number of citizens that live here. And that's how we operate. And right now we've got it right at $6 million in the bank because we're frugal, we're very conservative, and we try not to spend money unless we have to. 

KSG: How do you feel about the proposed rural resort in Kingston Springs? 

Anderson: Well, the first thing is you have to get both sides of the story. I want to know all the positives and all the negatives of both because you got positive and negative, you got pros and cons of both sides. Do I think this could be feasible to be done there? Yes. Do I think they could have handled it a lot different than they did? Absolutely.

I mean, honestly it to me, it feels like we're force feeding you. And now they went and the planning commission now is taking up a rural resort zoning. Nobody in Cheatham County has come to the planning commission about rural resort zoning, but these people. So now you're going to try to force feed rural resort zoning to the whole county, not just Kingston and Pegram.

They want to come, they want to build it, they want to make money, and they want to leave. Now, is that what we want in Cheatham County? Let's put all our cards on the table, and let's draw the best hand we can possibly draw for Cheatham County. If we do that, I think we all come out winners at the end. 

I think our current mayor is all about this. He's all about it, because all he's looking at is the money. He's not looking at the impact of nature. He's not looking at the impact of neighbors. And I think you need to look at all of it. 

KSG: What would a successful term for you look like in Cheatham County? 

Anderson: Total transparency, communication, unity within the county. 

We need to forget the river is the divider, and the river needs to be the thing that joins us together, because we've got two fantastic things in Cheatham County that we do not utilize enough. And that's the Harpeth River, and that's the Cumberland River. We ought to have businesses on that river for people to come – campgrounds, places for people to eat, marinas. We ought to have stuff like that on the river for people to come and stay. Because that's revenue, and that's tax money being spent in Cheatham County. Cheatham County is a tourism county. There's businesses that would come here if they're asked, but you got to go ask.

Everything I've ever done is team sports, so I'm big on team. I'm big on no one's any better than anybody else. I'm no better than any county employee. I'm no better than any city employee we have here right now. I'll go out and cut trees, I'll go push snow, I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done right the first time. And that's all I'm about, and that's the way I want to do it if I become county mayor. Let's be a team. Let's go out, let's get the job done, let's keep our citizens safe, and let's make sure that at the end of the day, when we go home, we can say we did the best we possibly could. 

KSG: Why should Cheatham County residents vote for you? 

Anderson: I'll show up on day one ready to work for the citizens of Cheatham County. I'll give 110%. I don't expect anybody to work any harder than I do. Like I said, if it means sweeping the floors, I'll sweep the floors. Whatever it takes to get the job done, that's what I'll do. I will not sleep unless we're successful. 

I want to see us become successful, whether it means let's pump the brakes, or if we're going full tilt, if that's what the citizens of Cheatham County want, we'll figure it out. But it's got to fit in. We're making a puzzle. The piece has got to fit in the puzzle. If it doesn't, it's the wrong piece, and we need to find a piece that works. 

Like I said, I'll just show up and work. And bottom line is, that's what the people of Cheatham County need, and that's what they want. I think they want a mayor who is out there working for them, who is visible, who can be seen, not just at election time, but all the time. It's easy to be seen at election time. but where are you at the rest of the year? I've been to events over the past five years, and the mayor of Cheatham County wasn’t there. If you're going to represent Cheatham County, and something's going on in Cheatham County, you should either be there or you should have a good reason why you're not. You need to make an attempt to be as visible and be as approachable as you possibly can be.