Athens City Council · Nov 3, 2026
Larry D.
Eaton
Larry D. Eaton, the incumbent, is running for Athens City Council in the Nov 3, 2026 election; 7 candidates are running for 3 seats.
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The race · City Council
- 01Abby Burke Carroll
- 02Larry D. EatonYou’re reading
- 03S. Thomas (Tom) Hamilton
- 04Perry L. McCowanIncumbent
- 05Lou Pascarella
- 06Robert Patrick
- 07H. Chris Trew
Background
- About
- Athens mayor and industrial electrician who started his own company in 2007.
- On the ballot as
- Independent Candidate
- Party
- Nonpartisan race. City of Athens
On the record: Larry D. Eaton
13 sourced01City manager2 sourced positions
Voted no on terminating City Manager Randall Dowling without cause (passed 3-2, June 2026).
Council voteDaily Post AthenianLinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on a motion to delay any decision on Dowling until councilmembers gave the city manager written concerns and met with him (failed 2-3, June 2026).
Council voteDaily Post AthenianLinkHow the council voted
02Executive sessions2 sourced positions
Moved for an investigation into the May 26 and June 4, 2026 executive sessions; the motion failed (2-3, June 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, June 4, 2026 (5:30 p.m. called session) · Jun 4, 2026Link
Moved that an independent party look at two executive meetings held before the called meetings in which the city manager was fired.
I believe we are to be open and transparent, and I believe we should be looking into this heavily and we need to have an open, transparent government.”
Own statementDaily Post AthenianLink
03City budget2 sourced positions
Moved amendments to the proposed 2026-27 budget that included reducing outside agencies by 10% and removing $16,800 in auto allowances (approved 5-0, May 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, May 19, 2026 · May 19, 2026Link
Voted no on adopting the 2026-27 city budget on second reading, as amended (passed 3-2, June 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026LinkHow the council voted
04Employee auto allowances1 sourced position
Moved to not restore the $16,800 employee auto allowance in the 2026-27 budget; the motion failed (2-3, June 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026Link
05Downtown historic overlay1 sourced position
Voted yes on postponing Ordinance 1153, the downtown H-2 historic overlay district, indefinitely (passed 3-2, April 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, April 21, 2026 · Apr 21, 2026LinkHow the council voted
06Council pay2 sourced positions
Voted no on first reading of Ordinance 1159, setting compensation for the mayor and councilmembers (passed 3-1 with one abstention, July 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, July 21, 2026 · Jul 21, 2026LinkHow the council voted
Voted yes on second reading of Ordinance 1159, setting compensation for the mayor and councilmembers (passed 3-1, August 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, Aug. 18, 2026 · Aug 18, 2026LinkHow the council voted
07Livestreaming meetings1 sourced position
Voted yes on a motion approving 2026 meeting dates, moving work sessions to the conference room and not live-streaming work sessions (passed 4-0, December 2025).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, Dec. 16, 2025 · Dec 16, 2025LinkHow the council voted
08Sister-city travel1 sourced position
Voted yes on authorizing the city manager's international travel to Japan, October 26 to November 1, 2025 (passed 3-2, October 2025).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, Oct. 2, 2025 (called session) · Oct 2, 2025LinkHow the council voted
09Fire Station No. 31 sourced position
Moved to fund Fire Station No. 3 with a $3,000,000 loan or other debt issuance; the motion was withdrawn before a vote (June 2026).
Council voteAthens City Council minutes, June 16, 2026 · Jun 16, 2026Link
Every claim links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works
Larry D. Eaton: their words and their votes on the same issue
Executive sessions
In their words
Moved that an independent party look at two executive meetings held before the called meetings in which the city manager was fired.
On the record
Moved for an investigation into the May 26 and June 4, 2026 executive sessions; the motion failed (2-3, June 2026).
Jun 4, 2026 ·Athens City Council minutes, June 4, 2026 (5:30 p.m. called session) · Jun 4, 2026
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