Quite the scoop.

Depending on what happens nationally next year may seen Independents break the glass ceiling.

Much speculation will ensue.

(link...)

The guy has bigger stones than anyone I've seen in or around government.

Run Lewis, run!

Should the Democrats urge Cosby to run as an independent?

And pledge to support Cosby?

I'd vote for Cosby. Its a scary thought that the choices are Tim and Tim. Makes me miss Ragsdale already.

Lewis Cosby discovered the P-Card abuses in the Mayor’s office. The Mayor and other officials had to write checks back to Knox County. Cosby made us aware of the Mayors illegal booze fund and it was shut down. Cosby’s investigative work and the reaction to “Black Wednesday” led to the largest turnout in a local election possibly ever. Cosby has no ties to any of the Knox County political machines so he could make a positive change in local politics. The question is without the ties to local old boy networks, can a reformer like Cosby win a local election?

Does being an astute auditor and 'not Ragsdale' equal qualification to run the County? I'm quite certain Mr. Cosby did a service to taxpayers by identifying where funds were not being handled properly. I'm less certain that that qualifies him to lead an organization. Knox County clearly needs remediation in the fiscal disciplne department, but it also needs forward thinking leadership and a path out of the political quagmire of recent years. Don't know that much about Mr. Cosby, but haven't seen anything yet that suggests he can do the latter thing. I would so much like to see not only better financial management, but also a break from the political mudfights of the past.

Potential Mayoral Candidate Cosby Faces Identity 'Clarification'
To be or not to be Republican: That is the question

From APB reports. KNOXVILLE - Potential Knox County mayoral candidate Lewis Cosby is undergoing a crisis of political faith and is seeking "clarification" of his political identity in the coming months, he announced today.

A former certified public accountant, sometime television station manager and full-time critic of County Mayor Mike Ragsdale's administration, Cosby picked up petitions to run for county mayor next year both as an Independent and as a Republican.

"I was taught to always be open-minded about political orientation," said Cosby, 59. "I'm keeping my options open. If I need to undergo an identity clarification procedure to transform myself into a viable political candidate, I think I have the flexibility for that. Just don't call me a Democrat - not that there's anything wrong with them."

Cosby has combed mayoral financial records for discrepancies in everything from purchasing card reports to the budget, and has offered to brush, wash, lather, rinse and repeat his criticism of the mayor's handling of his financial house.

"I want to make sure that, in me, the voters of Knox County have the best option for Knox County mayor," said Cosby, who is on the Knox County Ethics Committee. "This will be a pivotal year, and I want to make sure I am the right person there to fix the fulcrum, whichever way it sways. That's why I will gaze into the navel of my political positions to determine if I can maintain those positions and still be the candidate who wins the election. If not, those stances will change."

Cosby says it's important that voters know who is and what he stands for, which is why he is taking the time now to find out for himself.

"Yes, I want to clear myself, I mean, I want to be very clear on this myself," clarified Cosby. "Who am I? Am I Republican? Am I Independent? Am I some new hybrid that might appeal to a liberal, moderate and conservative viewpoint, to peaceniks, tea partiers and Palintologists alike? I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out..."

Lewis Cosby is a businessman as well as a CPA. I believe he is an owner of several local radio/tv stations. I would vote for him, for sure. It would be refreshing to have someone in charge of the county who is smart, capable and not tied to the usual crowd.

If & ONLY if Cosby runs as an independent.

It is the longest of the longest odds that the
Democrats would support him BUT on the outside
chance that anything is possible.

Here goes.

First,I agree with Average Guy,"organize around
him(Cosby),without trying to organize him."

1.No Democratic nominee for County Mayor.

No Democrat running is the best case scenerio.

The Knox County Democratic Executive Committee
would make no endorsement.

However,members of the Committee would be free
to individually support Cosby.

2.Nominal Democratic Nomninee

I stress nominal.

Under the Bylaws members of the Committee "MAY
be impeached" for "failure to support" the Democratic
nominee.

The key here is "MAY be impeached".
It's not SHALL it's MAY.

Therefore,as long as there is not a majority on the
Knox County Democratic Executive Committee in favor of impeaching a member for endorsing Cosby's independent candidacy over the Democratic nominee..then
members would be free to individually endorse & help Cosby.

This could get dicey if the membership is evenly divided
on the question of "failure to support" the Democratic nominee for mayor & supporting Cosby's independent candidacy.

I will say this.

I've been very impressed with Mr.Cosby.

And every thing I've read about Mr.Cosby
sure leds me to believe he's qualified to be
the chief executive of the county.

I've been very impressed with Mr.Cosby.

And every thing I've read about Mr.Cosby
sure leds me to believe he's qualified to be
the chief executive of the county.

How so?

He only focused on the Mayor's office and management of the county offices under its control.

What about the other county offices?

Did they not need any scrutiny?

One thing's for certain when someone says he's not sure whether he'll run as an Independent or a Republican:

It's ALL about Lewis.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.
President Abraham Lincoln 1862

If I remember right I saw Mr.Cosby on Steve Hall's &
Hal Hill's tv shows.

I was impressed with Mr.Cosby's background.

However,I can't recall all the specifics..
so I don't want to take a shot in the dark &
be wrong.

Others who read Knoxviews maybe able to shed more
light & post the specfics.

I was impressed with Mr.Cosby's background.

Thanks for your opinion.

I can see how people would be impressed with Mr. Cosby's background as a businessman, but how his experience applies to dealing with constituents, different interest groups, and the general processes of public office and governance is not clear to me, and to me, that's more important than simply auditing and finding problems in a public office.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present.
President Abraham Lincoln 1862