Former Kingsport Vice Mayor Richard Watterson dead at 94

Kingsport leaders are mourning the loss of former Vice Mayor Richard Watterson.

Local obituary information reported Watterson died Monday at the VA Medical Center at Mountain Home.

Watterson was the first African American to be voted onto the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman in the early 1970s and was elected Vice Mayor in 1981—a position he held 14 years, according to city records.

He eventually left politics in 1997 and was honored by the city on his 90th birthday. Richard Watterson was 94.

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