Reads the packet
Every agenda packet, read well before the meeting — contracts, budgets, attachments and all — so nothing gets rubber-stamped on a skim.
In office
The job, done in public
Who she is, how she approaches the commission, and a running register of every meeting since she took the oath — each one linked to the city's official video.
About Laura
Educator. Technologist. Neighbor.
Laura Howse was elected to the Collegedale Board of Commissioners in November 2024 as a first-time candidate and sworn in on December 2, 2024. She's a registered X-ray and MRI technologist with a Master's degree in Education, has taught at Chattanooga State Community College — where she built an online MRI program serving clinical sites across the region — and has worked as an Online Learning Facilitator for Harvard Business School's MBA program.
She and her husband Jon have called the area home since 2006, and you'll often find the family walking the greenway or at community events. She ran on a simple idea: Collegedale citizens deserve transparency, communication, and follow-through — and a commissioner who treats their questions as the job, not an interruption.
Katie Lamb Public Library Board
Collegedale Airport Advisory Board
First term · 2024–2028
How she works
Prepared before the gavel drops
A commissioner's vote lasts a few seconds. The work that makes it a good vote happens in the days before.
Asks the questions
Clarifying questions go to staff ahead of time, and the hard ones get asked out loud in the meeting, where residents can hear the answers too.
Votes on the record
Every decision is public — in the minutes and on video. She believes the record should make it easy to see who voted how, and why.
Service highlights
Results you can point to
Up to $200,000 for the library
As a library board member, she helped secure a State of Tennessee grant of up to $200,000 toward the Katie Lamb Library's renovation and expansion, which reopened to the public in September 2025.
Standing time with residents
She turned a campaign promise into a habit: recurring Community CARE meetings every fifth Monday, where residents get face time and straight answers between elections — not just during them.
Open doors, next generation
From supporting initiatives like Storm Safety Day with Southern Adventist University students to answering student reporters' questions, she works to pull more people into how their city runs.
The commission record
Every meeting, on the books
All 50 public meetings since she was sworn in on December 2, 2024 — newest first, each linked to the city's official recording (the newest few point to the video archive until their direct links are posted). Agendas, packets, and approved minutes (including votes) live on the city's agendas & minutes page.
| Date | Meeting | Official video |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Archive → |
| Jul 20, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Archive → |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Archive → |
| Jun 29, 2026 | Special Called Meeting | Archive → |
| Jun 15, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| May 18, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| May 4, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Apr 20, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Apr 6, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Mar 16, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 17, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Special Called Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 20, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 5, 2026 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Nov 24, 2025 | Special Called Meeting | Watch → |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Special Called Meeting | Watch → |
| Nov 17, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Nov 3, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Oct 20, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Oct 6, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Sep 15, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Sep 2, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Aug 18, 2025 | Beer Board | Watch → |
| Aug 18, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Aug 4, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Beer Board | Watch → |
| Jul 7, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jun 16, 2025 | Beer Board | Watch → |
| Jun 16, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jun 2, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jun 2, 2025 | Beer Board | Watch → |
| May 19, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Apr 21, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Apr 7, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Mar 17, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 24, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 18, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Feb 3, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 30, 2025 | Special Called Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 23, 2025 | Special Called Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 21, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Jan 6, 2025 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Dec 16, 2024 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
| Dec 2, 2024 | Commissioner Swearing In | Watch → |
| Dec 2, 2024 | Regular Meeting | Watch → |
Register current through August 3, 2026. Want the item-by-item breakdown? The Voting Record page lists every roll-call vote she has cast, sourced from these approved minutes.