C.W. Wright

Clifford Winfield Wright was a Scott County businessman and politician who served as both Scott County Judge and Oneida Mayor, and ran for Governor of Tennessee in 1936.

See Also: Mayors of Oneida
Preceded By: Sam A. Blair • Succeeded By: Arnold Colditz

See Also: Mayors of Scott County
Preceded By: William A. Terry • Succeeded By: Roscoe Byrd

Early Life

C.W. Wright was born in Daviess County, Ky. on Feb. 14, 1886. He was the son of Denton Winfield Wright and Mary Alice Spalding Wright.

On Oct. 12, 1916, Wright married Sarah Louise Gosney of Kentucky. They later moved to Oneida and had four children: Thelma Gentry, born 1919; Charles Denton, born 1920; Mary Sue Sexton, born 1929; and Doris Jean Schneider, born 1930.

Wright was a charter member of the Oneida Kiwanis Club in 1925, and served as the club’s president in 1927.

Run for Governor

In 1936, Wright mounted a campaign for governor as a Democrat. He was a lifelong Democrat and served as a chairman of the Democrat Party in Scott County.

Wright was one of three candidates for the Democrat nomination for governor in 1936, along with Gordon Browning, a former Congressman, and Burgin E. Dossett.

Browning was the overwhelming winner of the race, with 68% of the vote. Dossett received 30% of the vote. Wright received only 1.5% of the vote.

Browning would go on to be elected governor, defeating Republican Pat H. Thach. Scott County was one of just five in the entire state that voted for Thach.

Mayor of Oneida

Wright was elected mayor of Oneida in 1937, replacing Sam Blair. He was the town’s seventh mayor. He held the position for one year, and was replaced by Arnold Colditz in 1938, who finished the rest of his term.

The Contested Election of 1942

In August 1942, Wright ran for Scott County Judge (the office known as County Mayor today) against Roscoe Byrd.

The race was very tight, but the vote count appeared to favor Wright. He was certified the winner by the Scott County Election Commission, and took office on Sept. 1, 1942, replacing William A. Terry.

Byrd contested the results, however, and Chancellor J.H. Wallace of Scott County Chancery Court determined that Byrd had actually received the most votes.

It was not until April 11, 1944 that the race was settled and Byrd was sworn into office as County Judge.

As a result, Wright served as County Judge for more than 19 months despite actually losing the election of 1942.

Byrd sued Scott County for salary from Sept. 1, 1942 to April 11, 1944 — an amount of $3,373 (the equivalent of almost $60,000 in 2023 dollars). However, the Supreme Court of Tennessee determined that Byrd was not owed a salary because Wright had performed the duties of County Judge during that time period.

Death

Wright died on Feb. 20, 1961, at the age of 75. He was buried at Hazel Valley Memorial Cemetery. His wife, Sarah, was also buried there when she died in 1989.

At the time of his death, Wright served as editor of the Scott County News.

The U.S. Highway 27 bridge over Roaring Paunch Creek in Winfield was later named the C.W. Wright Memorial Bridge in his honor.