Two candidates have stepped up to run for Knoxville City Council in 2025

On By Karl

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Although the election isn’t until the end of next year, two candidates have already taken the first steps to run for Knoxville City Council.

The nonpartisan city council primary will be held on Aug. 26, and the general election will be held on Nov. 4. Candidates have until May 15 to participate in the race.

Karyn Adams hopes to represent south Knoxville and Matthew DeBardelaben hopes to represent northeast Knoxville.

Positions are open for Knoxville City Council Districts 1 and 4. Vice Mayor Tommy Smith and council member Lauren Rider are term-limited, as are council members representing other seats up for re-election. Voters in Districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 will see an entirely new slate of candidates on their primary ballots.

The 2025 election will be the first of its kind in Knoxville since 1969. Only voters in a particular city council district will be able to weigh in on that district’s representation in both the primary and general elections.

Who is Karyn Adams?

Adams, 52, is principal and creative director of H·A ThirtyOne, a higher education-focused marketing and communications company that supports recruiting and communications strategies for colleges and universities in the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast.

He serves on the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville Arts Development Council and is one of Knoxville’s representatives on the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission, which is responsible for countywide planning and zoning regulations.

Adams is a representative of the South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition.

“I am proud to announce my candidacy for City Council, offering energetic leadership and a progressive vision for our shared future,” Adams said in a news release. “I will represent South Knoxville and Fort Sanders with the same sense of possibility that I love about our city and what motivated me to stay here to raise my family.”

Adams’ campaign will focus on housing affordability, public safety, transportation and connectivity, strengthening small businesses and preserving and expanding South Knoxville’s green space, the statement said.

Who is Matthew DeBardelaben?

DeBardelaben, 52, is a real estate broker with Avison Young, a commercial real estate agency.

He is the PechaKucha Knoxville curator and an activist at the American Institute of Architects. He sits on the board of the Knoxville Downtown Alliance and on Knoxville’s design review board, an arm of the planning commission.

DeBardelaben told Knox News he has lived all over Knoxville since his arrival in 2011 and has learned how city government works by participating in various programs and organizations. Knowing Rider was term-limited, he decided 2025 would be a good time to throw his name in the hat.

“Knoxville is growing and there is no stopping,” he told Knox News. “There’s a lot of growth…in the neighborhood where I live, and I want to be a positive part of it.”

As a tenant, DeBardelaben hopes to engage with many voters. He told Knox News that his priorities, in addition to housing, are transportation and quality of life.

What the 2025 Knoxville City Council race will look like

The city council race is non-partisan. The two names receiving the most votes in the primary elections for each region will advance to the general election of that region.

The only council seat that will not be on the ballot is District 5 in northwest Knoxville. In the past, he has been on the ballot in the same years as the mayor and municipal judge, the council’s three at-large seats. Voters on November 5 decided to bring it in line with other numbered districts.

District 5 Council member Charles Thomas, who was re-elected in 2023, will serve until 2027, after which a new council member will serve until 2029, and his seat and those of candidates on the 2025 ballot will be up for re-election at the same time.

Allie Feinberg covers politics for Knox News. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on @alliefeinberg X, formerly known as Twitter.