Meet your candidates: Diana Pike-Lovell for District 5 Commissioner

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.

Incumbent Diana Pike-Lovell is running as an independent for her fourth term as a Cheatham County District 5 Commissioner – which represents Pegram. She currently holds the position alongside her counterpart Republican Gene Evans, who is also seeking re-election.

Evans did not respond to the Gazette’s request for an interview. Republican Jody Vann is also competing for a Cheatham County District 5 Commission seat. Since there are two seats for this position, both Vann and Evans will move forward to the general election ballot on Aug. 6. Lovell will only appear on the August ballot since she is running as an independent, and will not be included in the primary election. Only Pegram residents will see these seats on their ballot. 

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 Lovell, who is a Cheatham County native that spent the past 12 years on the Board of Commissioners,  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 the District 5 County Commission seat? What qualifications and experience do you have?

Lovell: I grew up here. When I went to school, the zoning was different, so I went to Ashland City, even though I lived in Pegram. I went to Ashland City Elementary and then went to Harpeth when it was first built as a middle school, the one that's the middle school now, before they built the high school. Then I went back to Cheatham County Central. So I went all over the county, 

That's just to say that I'm from here. My husband's from here. Our children are here, our grandchildren are here. So this is home. This is where we will be forever. And I love it here. Don't want to be anywhere else. 

KSG: You’re running for your fourth term. Why did you want to run again?

Lovell: I love doing this. I love going to the meetings, which is weird, but I love sitting through it. I love the process of it. I love the discussion and that we can have an argument in it, and then we walk out the door and we're friends again. I like talking to people about issues. I really just love the whole process, and I feel like I'm making a difference.

KSG: What are some of the accomplishments you’re proud of in your 12 years on the board?

Lovell: When we had committees, I was on the Emergency Services Committee, and I felt like we made a difference trying to get the fire halls in the areas so that they were all close enough that everyone got better ratings for their insurance. I’m very proud of that. We're still working on one in Kingston Springs, and we've been working on that for 15 years.

I’m on the Budget Committee, and I like our work. I know a lot of people think that we just spend and spend and spend, but there's a lot of discussion about everything. We don't look at anything lightly. We discuss all of it at length. 

I'm on the Cheatham County Community Enhancement Coalition Board, which I feel very strongly about that and what they do, as well as Cheatham Cares. I formed Cheatham Cares last year to try to get all of the recovery groups and the nonprofits together so that we could figure out what is the best way to get information out to people so they didn't have to go look for it. We're still working on that, but we did some classes last year and taught about 35 people how to use narcan and why they need to know how to use narcan. 

Non-related to the commission, I've been the treasurer for the Creakers Ball Committee for eight years. So I do deal with their budget and take care of the money for them. I've been the chairman of the Beer Board since 2015 so I oversee that committee, and I've been self-employed since 1987 so I think that I'm pretty good at organizing and keeping everything straight.

KSG: What are the top issues facing Cheatham County that you want to prioritize if re-elected?

Lovell: Growth is a big issue right now, so I think it's important for everybody to realize that it's coming. It's coming, but we can decide what kind of growth we want, and I think we've got to be open to ideas, rather than just shutting down anything that wants to come in. I'm not pro-anything right now, and we know what I'm talking about, because I don't have enough information yet, but we can choose so we don't end up with a lot of subdivisions, like Pleasant View.

KSG: How should the county balance growth and development with preserving its environment and character?

Lovell: We just choose what kind of growth we want and look at everything that wants to come in, rather than just saying, ‘Okay, build that, build that.’ I think we do a pretty good job of that, because it's all a process, and it goes through the planning and zoning committee, and they research it, then they send it to us, and we research it, and some things go on for a very long time. Others are much smaller and don't take as much time, but I think we've just got to figure out what kind of growth we want.

Like River Road – I know we turned down something last year that was commercial – we don't want River Road to end up being commercial or industrial. That's on the other side of the river. I'd much rather us be recreational or single family homes or farms. 

KSG: What are your concerns as it relates directly to District 5? 

Lovell: Watching our growth. I think our emergency services are in great shape. We've got the fire halls, a rural fire hall in Pegram now, which helps a lot. Still working on the one in Kingston, but we've got one in Petway. And those are manned, not full time, but they are manned. So if there's an emergency call, which typically is a medical call, someone is there most of the time, or can be there very quickly. 

KSG: How do you approach responsible budgeting and financial oversight at the county level? 

Lovell: We have a budget meeting every month that's for the day to day. That's anything that comes up that's unexpected, or things we need to surplus. But the budget process starts in April, and we have to finish by July 31.

When we start having budget meetings, we allow department heads to come in and speak to us and explain why. Why do you need a new employee? Why do you need pens? Why do you need a new printer? We talk in pennies, and we look at how many pennies it would take to fund what they want, and then we start whittling down. We go, ‘Okay, I know they really need the printer, so we have to buy that. They can hold off on the employee right now, so we're going to cut that.’ And we'd go through every single line on there and see how much we can cut down and what we really feel like we have to have.

KSG: How do you plan to stay connected and responsive to residents in District 5? 

Lovell: My phone number is out there, and anyone can call me anytime. I may not be able to answer, but I'll call you back eventually. You can always email me. I'm on Facebook. I try to watch all the events, so I know if I can get to all the events that are going on, and I try to be really available, and anyone can call me anytime. If I can't answer, I'll text back.

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

Lovell: Success for the county would look like no new taxes, because I would love to see us not have to raise taxes. A new fire hall in Kingston Springs in the rural area, maybe a new ambulance station, maybe two – and steady, slow growth. That would be success.

KSG: Why should voters in District 5 vote for you?

Lovell: Because I am very accessible and I'm willing to talk about even hard issues. I have experience, and I would really love to have their vote.