Roughly a year from the campaign trail, two officials are considering a run for Rutherford County mayor in 2018 with Ernest Burgess set to step down after two terms.

State Sen. Bill Ketron, a Murfreesboro Republican representing the eastern part of Rutherford County, and County Commissioner Pettus Read of Rockvale both recently confirmed they are eyeing the mayoral race.

The election is to be held in August 2018 and serious campaigning would likely start early that year or in late 2017.

"I am looking at it. I have had several people ask me to," said Read, 68, who is retired from the Farm Bureau after 44 years.

With people encouraging him to seek the post, Read, whose commission term will be up in 2018, said he would have to weigh a mayoral run against focusing on the needs of District 8 in southwest Rutherford County, largely a rural area.

"I really enjoy being a commissioner," he said, adding he also likes his district and enjoys serving its people.

Read said he has been "so pleased" with Burgess' guidance of the county at a difficult time. Rutherford County's sheriff is in jail and suspended without pay while awaiting trial Feb. 7, 2017 on federal corruption charges. Meanwhile, longtime County Attorney Jim Cope resigned in October after pleading guilty to insider trading as a director of Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville.

Read the entire story in our partner newspaper The Murfreesboro Post by Sam Stockard HERE.