Fri
Aug 6 2010
10:42 am
Congratulations to Mayor Halsam
By: R. Neal

I give Bill Haslam a hard time, but he ran a pretty clean primary and fended off vicious attacks from a couple of crazies who would have been a lot worse for our state. So Mr. Haslam at least gets credit for that.

And he seems like such a nice fellow. The kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with sometime, except he probably doesn't drink beer.

He'll likely go on to beat McWherter like a rented mule in the general (which seems to have been the TNDP strategery all along for for some reason) so I guess I might as well make nice.

Somebody over there in Nashville better keep a close eye on TNInvestco and the ECD, though. Taxpayer money seems to have a way of leaking out of outfits like that into the pockets of wealthy, connected types.

Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. The wheels of progress gotta be greased sometimes, I guess. And hey, maybe with Haslam in Nashville, some of it will make its way over here and trickle down on regular folks.

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Andy Axel's picture

Endorsement II!

Submitted by Andy Axel on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 12:22pm.

ZOMG! Progressiveville endorses Haslam again! ;^)

He'll likely go on to beat McWherter like a rented mule in the general (which seems to have been the TNDP strategery all along for for some reason)...

I have had this discussion before with some astute folk, one of whom pointed out to me that Bredesen might as well have hand-picked Haslam to succeed him.

Bash Bredesen's high-dollar donor list against Haslam's sometime. The name Frist appears more than once in both, e.g.

Thag13's picture

Listening to you guys, I

Submitted by Thag13 on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 1:03pm.

Listening to you guys, I might as well stay home in November. Poor old Mike doesn't have a chance..right??

R. Neal's picture

I voted for him in the

Submitted by R. Neal on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 1:04pm.

I voted for him in the primary and will do so again in November. But you probably need to ask all those Democrats who voted for Haslam what they plan to do in November. :)

Rachel's picture

But you probably need to ask

Submitted by Rachel on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 2:04pm.

But you probably need to ask all those Democrats who voted for Haslam what they plan to do in November

I'm one of them, and I don't know yet. I'm waiting to hear what McWherter has to say. So far he sounds like a Republican. If I'm going to have a moderate Republican as governor, I'd rather have one who I know can at least run a city.

fischbobber's picture

If I'm going to have a

Submitted by fischbobber on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 6:06pm.

If I'm going to have a moderate Republican as governor, I'd rather have one who I know can at least run a city.

(Insert Haslam joke here) :~)

Rachel's picture

Insert away. Haslam has been

Submitted by Rachel on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 6:30pm.

Insert away. Haslam has been a very good Mayor. And I say that as someone who worked passionately for Madeline Rogero.

fischbobber's picture

I will concede that the two

Submitted by fischbobber on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 11:27pm.

I will concede that the two issues that have most directly affected me, junior golf and the TYP, under the Haslam administration, have been poorly handled.

I will also concede that I am probably not as involved in active process of government as I should be.

I will also concede that there are, and have been, many players in the local political scene that make being an effective mayor challenging.

I will also concede that under certain circumstances that average can look good.

Under those concessions, I will agree with your comment.

This election has been hard on me.

Rachel's picture

I will concede that the two

Submitted by Rachel on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 1:28am.

I will concede that the two issues that have most directly affected me, junior golf and the TYP, under the Haslam administration, have been poorly handled.

I know squat about junion golf. I agree the TYP has been poorly handled (although that really shouldn't reflect solely on Haslam; it's the county's program too).

On many other things - the south waterfront, downtown revitalization, City finances, general transparency in govt, a willingness to work with Council and stakeholders, to name a few - Haslam has done a great job.

Do I agree with everything he's done? Nope. Has he made mistakes? Sure. But in general he's done a very good job, and I think that's reflected in the vote of confidence he got from Knoxvillians yesterday.

bizgrrl's picture

Campaigning?

Submitted by bizgrrl on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 6:22am.

Campaigning?

Rachel's picture

No, just expressing my

Submitted by Rachel on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 2:37pm.

No, just expressing my opinion on Haslam's term as Mayor. As I said earlier in this thread, I haven't decided yet who to vote for in the general. I'd like to vote for McWherter, but he needs to show me something.

fischbobber's picture

One thing I've learned over

Submitted by fischbobber on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 3:16pm.

One thing I've learned over the course of the last few months is that , in politics, point of view is everything.

There was a time in my life when the achievements of this administration would have lead me to your opinion. As my life has changed, so have my priorities. Neighborhood and family friendly issues now trump development/entertainment type issues (not that they are not important, just not as important to me). I prefer Victor's parks and neighborhoods agenda over Bill's downtown and development.

That doesn't make Bill a bad guy. It just makes him someone I wouldn't reach out to vote for.

I'm looking forward to Madeline and merely hoping for the best at the state level.

Rachel's picture

I prefer Victor's parks and

Submitted by Rachel on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 6:20pm.

I prefer Victor's parks and neighborhoods agenda over Bill's downtown and development.

Victor certainly had a park agenda, and did a fine job with it too, especially in the last few years of his administration. But "neighborhood" agenda???? Most of the folks who have been toiling in the neighborhood arena for years would certainly dispute that one!

Victor had a top down approach. He wanted to be "the decider" and he had the votes on City Council tied up to do what he wanted. Carlene Malone and at the end Nick Pavlis struggled against that in vain.

For the most part, Bill prefers a collaborative approach. That's a good thing in itself, and it's a practical one as well, since term limits brought us an entirely new set of Council members with minds of their own.

It sounds to me like you don't like Haslam mainly because of the TYP. I prefer to look at the entirety of his 6 1/2 years in office rather than a single issue. Each to his/her own.

BTW, Madeline has supported the TYP also. So has Marilyn Roddy. Are you gonna be an Ivan Harmon supporter? Seriously?

fischbobber's picture

You may find this hard to

Submitted by fischbobber on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 8:36pm.

You may find this hard to believe, but I've been on Victor's shit list as well.

Years ago, there was a series of fatal accidents at dead man's curve around the 3200 block of Kingston Pike. Victor scheduled a meeting with a small group of people and I got wind of it and took it upon myself to invite everyone I saw who might have a vested interest to said meeting. I wasn't going to be able to attend the meeting because of work, but based on the feedback I got Victor wasn't happy and the meeting was cancelled. He put up a flashing yellow light at the curve, along with some signage, and I don't believe there has been another fatality. Love him or hate him Victor was good at his job. I had my doubts about his solution, but it worked.

I actually like Bill Haslam but we just have different ideas about the direction of this city. Again, to each his own.

I'm not against the TYP and I'll venture that I have worked as hard as any independent citizen to educate myself and look for solutions to the problems at hand. My wife has threatened bodily harm if I ever say, "You know, that doesn't look like a bad place. I wonder if the bus line runs by here. It's not that far from the bike trail." one more time. I think Mayor Haslam has supported the TYP, I don't believe he is committed. The support of the city in the form of simple, basic, cheap,and smart infrastructure in this project is a no brainer, and to be honest, was all I expected or wanted. The administration hasn't budged. That is one of a plethora of problems the TYP is facing right now.

I believe that saying Bill Haslam has been a great Mayor is as unfair as saying he was a shitty one.

As for Madeline, I supported her publicly last time she ran, and assuming she doesn't tell me to keep my mouth shut and not put her sign in my yard (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that's the smart move :-) ) I'll support her publicly again. I sincerely believe that Madeline Rogero's election is crucial to the successful future of this city. It's how we elect to pursue our goals that will ultimately determine what kind of town we live in.

I'm not going to comment on Roddy or Harmon. That being said.......

In both junior golf and the TYP issues I have spoken to Joe Bailey and spoke my mind on both issues. I've watched people from both sides of the TYP issue rip Joe simply because he can be an easy target. Every time I talk to Joe about an issue he presents the other side of the issue and promises to do nothing but give both sides consideration. I have then proceeded to watch him do what he felt was right on both issues. I haven't agreed with every single vote I've seen him cast, but I've really come to respect him. For my money, he is the most under rated politician in Knoxville. But I'm not an insider, just a voter and citizen.

Rachel's picture

I agree with you about Joe

Submitted by Rachel on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 9:33pm.

I agree with you about Joe Bailey. We're not exactly on the same political wavelength, but I really think he has really grown in the job. That has impressed me a great deal.

BTW, I don't think I ever said Haslam was a great mayor. I said he was a very good one, who has been great on some issues.

And oh yeah, re: Victor's "shit list." That's another difference between him and Haslam. I've never seen any indication that Haslam has one.

fischbobber's picture

We're not exactly on the same

Submitted by fischbobber on Sat, 2010/08/07 - 9:35pm.

We're not exactly on the same political wavelength,

"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."- Will Rogers

Hildegard's picture

"I don't belong to an

Submitted by Hildegard on Sun, 2010/08/08 - 8:30pm.

"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."- Will Rogers

Unfortunately, that idea is as dead as Will Rogers. I really think anybody who is invested in either party as any kind of hope for the future is like a fly on a corpse.

JHayes's picture

I'm for Haslam

Submitted by JHayes on Fri, 2010/08/06 - 2:30pm.

Haslam is moderate, respectful, and the guy has done a pretty good job of running our city. Furthermore, the Haslam's have done an unbelievable amount of work to help make Knoxville better and I feel that he should be rewarded for that.

On the other end, I just don't feel like McWherter is all that great a candidate. Honestly, to this point, he has acted as much, or more, Conservative than Wamp and Ramsey had during the primary process, so I think he is really a closet Republican anyway.

Toad in the Hole's picture

Republicans voted for Bredesen, Dems will vote for Haslam

Submitted by Toad in the Hole (not verified) on Sun, 2010/08/08 - 10:59pm.

Bredesen is more conservative than Haslam at this point in time and Bill will get pushed further to the right as he continues to talk about national issues which are going to be affecting Tennessee over the next 4 years, particularly immigration, 10th amendment, smaller government, unfunded federal mandates, etc.

Victor Ashe stagnated the city of Knoxville for 20 years, saddled in debt with a convention center which isn't even a break even operation year and continued to pander to issues which most american mayors punted away in favor of economic growth to create good jobs for its citizenry. While a debatable good mayor, during Ashe's tenure, Knoxville lost its position as the socioeconomic center of East Tennessee and we see the remnants of that development every day.

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