Issues At County Commission Committee Meeting this AM

The budget, of course....

Also:

• Liquor by the drink in the unincorporated areas of Knox County? [This would require a referendum, can't be done by ordinance, withdrawn]
  
• Do we need to create rules for electronic billboards in Knox County?
• Gallegher Drive/Gleason Improvement Project (affecting many in the Fourth District)
• Was Rutherford Moss' contribution to the Hospitality Fund a sufficient conflict of interest to prevent renewal of his contract for the annual financial audit? Committees voted to recommend renewal of his countract, with a few (4?) objections.
• Commission wants more control of the School Board superintendent and control of their budget. Given the previous lack of interest by Commission in budget summits with the school board, this seems very misplaced.
• Proposed cutting % of hotel/motel tax reinvested in the Tourism board (from 45% to 40%, most other counties reinvest 52%).

Thanks, guys!

A quick "thanks" to the County Engineering crew that came to remove the tree blocking our road after Friday's storm. We had a nice little chat as we worked together to remove the limbs to the side of the road. They had been working straight since 11pm the previous night, clearing over 50 trees up to that point, and still had more to do. After we finished that job, I had to run out and clear the tree blocking my Mother's driveway (happy early Mother's day!).

So, when you write that check for your property taxes, remember there's more than just schools to pay for. Think of all the hidden and emergency services that are available for us all.

Great job guys.

Stories from the Campaign Trail

I spent two hours going door to door last night, but I only managed to get to two houses.

At the second house I went to, an older gentleman and his wife were out in the carport, enjoying the weather. So, I walked up and made my typical introduction (hi, I'm running for County Commission here in the Fourth District, etc). He immediately asked me who I was going to vote for in the presidential election. I got to talking about my whole voting history, which led into us talking about work (he drove a tractor-trailer for 50 years), retirement, health, work ethics, hobbies (he gleams up tractors for tractor pulls), crime, education, immigration, children, and (I swear I'm not exaggerating) the meaning of life.

By the time it was dark, we both knew each other as well as most relatives. It was a great way to spend an evening. Not as productive as I'm used to from a campaign perspective, but it was a moment to stop and recognize how much you miss in the quick door-to-door process. Lives are complicated. Goodness knows mine is, too. The capacity of people to live with their daily challenges (say, battling with the contractor that messed up paving your driveway) and still be active and involved in community issues is a great testament to the endless energy some people have for making where they live a better place for all.

So, to my new friend, this post is for you.

The Silence is on YOUR SIDE, media folks....

I was watching Tennessee This Week and almost hit the floor with Gene Patterson and Frank Cagle commented that "you have a lot of people running in the August election, and you haven't heard a peep out of them [about the charter petition amendments]."

Hmmm. I guess you didn't get the press releases and you forgot the conversations we've had in the back of the City County meeting room or the call-ins to your shows.

I commented to Georgiana Vines that the Charter Petition discussion was "sucking the oxygen out of the room" with regards to the election. We have a boatload of other issues that need to be brought out and discussed before the election- growth issues, the coming changes related to air quality non-compliance, the budget crisis, ethics issues, etc., and time is running short. Us candidates are happy to discuss these things (and I routinely comment on these issues on my blog), but please don't pin the blame on us and call is silent on the issues.

Give us a call. We'd be happy to discuss these things with you. My phone # is 228-2263, and it's on 24/7. Early voting starts in about 10 weeks. For those of you with Sunday talk shows, think about how many candidate appearances you need to fit in that time frame.