R. Bentley Marlow released the following statement:

I made the commitment when I entered this race specifically to address the housing crisis. Housing and homelessness are intimately connected. My commitment is to fix the long-broken zoning and permitting processes that has prevented affordable housing construction in Knoxville. This failure impacts everyone, not just neighborhoods and small businesses but also the homeless. Knoxville’s rents continue to rise with fewer and fewer affordable options available. Lack of affordable housing is the most cited cause of homelessness. We can no longer ignore the fact that our current homeless plan is not working.

In response, I have asked my friend Ron Peabody to join my team, because of his in-depth knowledge and long-standing concerns about efforts to address homelessness in Knoxville. Thirteen years ago, as the Founder of TYP Choice, he began asking questions about the Ten-Year Plan, that had struggled to make any measurable difference for the majority of Knoxville’s Homeless. Then after both the  City and the County leadership paused the TYP, Ron was named Co-Chair of the  Compassion Knoxville initiative, that created a substantial public input process, the first of its kind on Homelessness. The City and the County’s leadership then shelved that plan in 2011. After 12 years away from these issues, it has become apparent to Ron and myself that he can no longer remain on the sidelines I am pleased to announce his addition to my campaign.