Ross: Moore County must prepare for growth

District 5 candidate Whitney Ross says county must protect what residents value, prepare for what comes next

7:20 a.m. July 10, 2026

With the 2026 Moore County elections approaching later this year, the Observer is conducting one-on-one interviews with candidates who have officially qualified for office. Candidates are not given questions in advance and have no input on the final written coverage. As part of the Observer’s commitment to independent, fact-based reporting, campaign letters or promotional submissions from candidates are not accepted.

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DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Whitney Ross does not believe Moore County can stop growth.

He believes it can prepare for it.

Ross, a candidate for the Metro Council in District 5, said the county must move beyond debating whether change will come and begin deciding what that change should look like.

“We have to get past the mindset that Moore County’s not going to grow,” Ross said. “We have to try our best to help it grow in a pleasing fashion for all residents.”

That balance – protecting what residents value while planning for what lies ahead – is at the center of Ross’ campaign.

He said Moore County must remain mindful of farmers, longtime property owners, roads, public services, development standards, and the pressure growth can place on local government.

Finding his way home

Ross spent the early part of his childhood in Moore County before his family moved to the area near Bell Buckle.

His parents, Jeff and Sheila Ross, relocated while his father worked nights at Bridgestone and did construction work during the day.

Whitney later married his wife, Tonya, and the family eventually returned to Moore County. They now live off Ledford Mill Road, where Ross said they intend to stay.

Their two sons attend Moore County schools. Their oldest, Jax, will be a senior, while their younger son will enter seventh grade.

For Ross, the move back marked a return home.

Service on and off the job

Ross has worked as a firefighter for 23 years, 12 of which have been with Arnold Engineering Development Complex. He's also served in Bell Buckle, Manchester, and Shelbyville.

He said the job has given him a firsthand look at how government decisions affect employees, departments, budgets, and the public. His work in construction has also brought him into contact with property owners, contractors, customers, and developers who hold differing views on growth and regulation.

Those experiences, he said, strengthened a long-standing interest in public service.

“If I can be a help to the local community and try to make it better than the way I found it, then I’m trying to get involved to do so,” Ross said.

He said it is easy to criticize decisions from outside government. Running for office means accepting responsibility for helping make them.

“It’s easier to sit back and play armchair quarterback than it is to take a hand in the game,” Ross said.

Ross has also served as president of the Moore County High School Diamond Club, helping organize support for the baseball program. He has coached baseball in Lynchburg and Tullahoma and teaches an adult Sunday school class at New Life Baptist Church on Cobb Hollow Road.

He previously served as a volunteer firefighter in Bell Buckle and said he would like to volunteer in Moore County if an opportunity becomes available.

Property taxes and the county budget

As Ross spoke with District 5 residents while gathering signatures to qualify for the ballot, one issue kept coming up: property taxes.

“That’s where it hits home,” Ross said.

He said residents may follow debates over development, businesses, and government spending, but property tax increases hit household budgets directly.

Ross said controlling that pressure will require the county to examine spending carefully while also preparing for the costs that accompany growth.

He said he would expect to spend much of his first year studying the county’s finances, learning departmental needs, and identifying areas where money could be cut or redirected.

“There’s a lot of things that you don’t get information to until you’re in the spot,” Ross said.

Ross did not identify specific departments, programs, or expenses he would cut. He said he would first need to review the county’s finances from inside the council before making those decisions.

His approach, he said, would be to determine where spending can be reduced, where investment is necessary, and how decisions made now will affect future councils and taxpayers.

Setting the rules before growth arrives

Ross said Moore County should establish development standards before additional growth arrives.

“You’ve got to understand that growth is going to happen whether you like it or not,” Ross said. “You can fight it all day long, but it’s going to come.”

He supports establishing clear standards before proposals arrive, rather than creating rules after a project is already underway.

Lot sizes, density, infrastructure, roads, and the character of surrounding communities should all be part of the county’s long-range planning, he said.

“You can’t just fight it,” Ross said. “If you don’t have those things in place, then you’re left looking at each other like, ‘Man, we’ve messed up.’”

His father, Jeff Ross, serves on the Moore County Planning and Zoning Commission. Whitney said his own construction experience has shaped his support for larger lots and limits on dense, tract-style residential development.

He said the county should make room for growth while using lot-size and density standards to protect the character of surrounding communities.

Ross said protecting farmers must remain part of that conversation.

“We’ve got to help farmers out,” he said. “But we’ve got to understand that growth is going to come, too.”

Ross said growth can also increase demand on roads, emergency services, schools, and other public infrastructure. He said the council must weigh those pressures as it considers future development.

“There’s just so much that you’ve got to try to manage,” Ross said. “You can’t tackle it all within the first year.”

Brothers on the ballot

Ross is not the only member of his family seeking a District 5 council seat. His brother, Brandon Ross, is also a candidate.

Whitney said the two did not coordinate their decisions to run. Each had already filed before learning the other had entered the race.

Despite occasionally holding different views, Ross said he respects his brother and believes either would serve the district well.

“I hope both of us get in,” Ross said. “But if we don’t, I’ll be rooting for him and supporting him either way.”

Ross said he would judge his own service by whether Moore County was better prepared at the end of his term than it was at the beginning.

“How will we look when I’m gone in four years?” Ross said. “I want to leave it for the next person where they can sustain and carry on and continue to grow.”

Election information

Early voting runs from Friday, July 17, through Saturday, Aug. 1. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Monday, July 27. The Moore County General Election is Thursday, Aug. 6.