East Ridge politician Curtis Adams dies at 86

Curtis Adams was 86.

He was a long time member of the Hamilton County Commissioner and also served as Mayor of East Ridge.

Adams called himself “the Senior Commissioner” because he served longer than anyone else.

Adams began working for the Chattanooga News- Free Press as a teenager and rose to lead their circulation and advertising departments.

With the backing of his boss, Roy McDonald, he ran for the Hamilton County Commission in 1988.

He served the East Ridge district as a Democrat until he switched parties in 2005.

Adams was known for taking controversial positions, but always with a humorous twist.

In 2008, he was hired as city manager of East Ridge while keeping his seat on the Commission.

But that didn’t last long.

He surprised everyone by resigning a few months later after a rocky relationship with other city leaders.

At the age of 77, Adams finally left the Commission to become the city administrator of Crossville, Tennessee.

At the age of 80, he ended his political retirement by running for his old, “East Ridge” seat on the Commission.

However, his comeback failed when Tim Boyd defeated him.

Adams’ sons founded Adams Tire Center on Main Street in 1975.

Curtis would later join them in running the business, but both of them died within a couple of years of each other.  The tire center would close in 2004.

Friends say Curtis Adams had fallen last week, and was moved to the Hospice facility at Siskin.

He died just before noon on Tuesday.