Thanks, Lisa. Actually, Frank Leuthold is speaking to the Halls Business and Professional Association on Tuesday, May 19th, at noon at the Halls Senior Center. Lunch is $10 and the meeting is open to the public. Come out and join us! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at scott@scottfrith.com

(link...)

Commissioner Briggs has assured the Town of Farragut they will not be split.

How he knows that is unclear. At least twice Commissioner Briggs has violated the Sunshine Law but for some reason the KNS never reported it or took legal action. How does he have such confidence on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

Commissioner Briggs wrote a guest editorial to the KNS endorsing Charter Amendment 3 and 4. Now he is frantically doing damage control hoping people will forget his guest editorial.

(link...)

What the people in Sequoyah Hills need to know is that IF Commissioner Briggs is successful in his lobbying effort to keep his 5th District voters happy they most surely will be in the 9th District. Say hello to Paul Pinkston and Mike Brown Sequoyah Hills voters.

The bottom line is this was very stupid. People were asked if they wanted to end nepotism, not if they wanted to be forced into a new voting District. Now only a court case can stop this. You might want to contribute.

Now we get to watch an uncivil war of each District trying to protect themselves at the expense of other Districts.

Thanks KCP. Was this the change you kept harping about? Pissing off nearly everyone is change.

Won't it be such fun to watch Sequoyah Hills fight to keep from being in the 9th? But then that will screw up the 1st District. And so on and so on.

And the lawyers just laugh themselves silly over drinks and prime rib at Regas.

Frank is well respected in the redistricting game, but there are serious flaws in his plan. As a leader of the anti-amendment faction, it's almost as if he's trying to make the worst redistricting plan possible.

Splitting Farragut into 2 districts makes nobody happy -- especially when you could as easily slice off the eastern end of District 5 (Cedar Bluff area). Frank's plan dumps Lumpy's Powell home into District 7 with R. Larry. It puts Heiskell into District 8 with Carter High School.
It sends Sequoyah to District 9 (south Knox) and colors District 2 ever so Republican blue. -- s.

You talk like being in the 9th district is a bad thing and I don't agree.

I'm more worried about a well financed candidate from Sequoyah getting elected to represent the people in Gap Creek. Along with the rest of us South Knoxvillians.

And there wouldn't be a 2nd commissioner to balance it out.

Sounds like Victoria DeFreese will have to think about joining the Cherokee Country Club. (Do they allow female members?)

Now, everyone can't forget that we will get a redistricting do-over in 2011 after all the new census data is available. So, the redistricting they propose now, will not necessarily be what we end up with.

Sorry all, my bad on the link in my original post. Fixed now.

I'm a longtime Frank Leuthold fan, having known him since the first time I covered Commission in 1987, but Clark and Rachel are right. Most everybody's got an agenda, including me, Frank and Elaine Davis, and if you think that he's never cut a deal in his long political career, I'd like to interest you in some swampland in Arizona. He's an honorable guy, but he's also an experienced pol. Political concerns are always a part of every redistricting.
Frank was the face of the anti-charter amendment movement. His son would like to be trustee. Word has gone out among insiders that sitting commissioners who are running for reelection (there aren't that many of them, relatively speaking) will be "protected." I guess those who will have to run against each other (Lumpy and Brad Anders) will have to fend for themselves.
It would have been better for someone else to draw the new districts. It's guaranteed to piss a lot of people off, whichever way the lines are drawn, and having someone who is perceived to have no axe to grind draw the lines would cut down on some of the outrage. Maybe.

It appears that R. Larry (7th District) is behind the plan.

Last week, he attended the Powell High (6th District) Senior Awards Day to announce students' scholarships to UT-Knoxville.

Last night, he attended the Powell High School-wide Awards Day to announce his $250 gift of discretionary funds (I guess that's the source) to the school.

I've got an agenda too.

I want the Fort & Campus to stay in the 1st district.

Why? Partisan politics plain & simple.

I really really like being in a district that
the commission race is decided in the Democratic primary.

(Carringer pledged not to run)

Larry Van Guilder

I've heard that Shouse is going to run at-large.
I think those two have become pretty good friends, so it's unlikely they'd run against each other.
Ditto Broyles and Harmon.

I think Bean is right, and Shouse probably has a better chance county-wide.

larry threw out something interesting in the 7th.
thought THAT was set in stone.

i dont know one way or the other about 2nd or 4th.
just heard political chatter on both.

see what happens come time to turn in petitions.