Councilmember John Duggan was elected November 5th, 2024, to a four-year term to the Athens City Council. He is the oldest son of Mart J. and Wilma Duggan, last owners of Duggan’s Cleaners, a small business run here in Athens until December 2018. He is a faithful born-again Christian who has served for the past 35 years at First Baptist Church of Athens. He is married to Brittany Duggan and will be celebrating 17 years of marriage in December of 2024. Their daughters are Lauren, Mia, Emily, and Scarlett. All four girls attend Valley Christian Academy where their mother teaches.

John is a 2002 graduate of UTC. As a solid worker in the work force since 1993, he has worked for small businesses (Duggan’s Cleaners, Blackburn Trumpets, Athens Movie Palace, YMCA of Athens), local government (McMinn Co. Sheriff’s Dept.), and spent over 20 years in the financial banking sector (Citizens National Bank, CapStar Bank, and Old National Bank). He has served the last few years as a volunteer in appointed roles by the previous council on the McMinn Co. Library Board as a Trustee and the Council Advisory Committee.  

“ I ran my recent campaign for council with the theme of Moving Forward. I believe if we are not moving forward as a city, then we are either standing still or falling behind. We can no longer stand still or fall behind and expect to solve problems within our council and city. It is time we made Athens a place that everyone will want to come and visit.”