Tue
Jun 14 2011
03:37 pm
Joe Hultquist running for mayor?
By: R. Neal

We are told that former City Councilman Joe Hultquist has picked up a petition...
Rachel's picture

You are apparently told

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 4:06pm.

You are apparently told correctly.

This is not an endorsement, BTW. I've been committed to Madeline for a long time.

JHayes's picture

Good for him

Submitted by JHayes on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 4:08pm.

I know that people on here are Madeline supporters and are also people who have been major supporters of Hultquist in the past.

Who will you guys be for?

I think Hultquist has always had a lot of good ideas (with a few off the wall ones). It will be interesting, at least to me, to see how South Knoxville votes between him and Madeline.

Rachel's picture

I love Joe dearly and I

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 4:11pm.

I love Joe dearly and I worked hard to get him elected to Council, but I don't think it will come as a surprise to him that I think Madeline will make a better mayor.

I suspect many of my south Knoxville neighbors will feel the same. And a lot of folks who supported Joe for council are already commited to Madeline.

knoxrebel's picture

Adds a twist

Submitted by knoxrebel on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 4:51pm.

Question is, will Hultquist (a South Knoxville guy) siphon off enough votes from Madeline (a South Knoxville gal) (i.e., dilute her vote total) to help Padgett's and/or Harmon's percentages in the primary? I don't know either way, but he adds that very interesting twist to this race. It does not, in any way I can see (can you?), help Madeline.

And with the next round of financial disclosures at the end of the month, I think it will show Padgett pulling away. Whoever you're pulling for, you gotta admit, that's pretty impressive for a young first-timer.

Bbeanster's picture

this is odd

Submitted by Bbeanster on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 5:11pm.

this is odd

EconGal's picture

Re " this is odd"

Submitted by EconGal on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 6:57pm.

So is Hultquist

Rachel's picture

will Hultquist (a South

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 5:11pm.

will Hultquist (a South Knoxville guy) siphon off enough votes from Madeline (a South Knoxville gal) (i.e., dilute her vote total) to help Padgett's and/or Harmon's percentages in the primary?

No. And I'll bet you a lunch on it (which will be our second bet since I've already bet with you that Madeline will carry south Knoxville).

knoxrebel's picture

Bet's on, Rachel

Submitted by knoxrebel on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 11:09am.

Ok, Rachel, do we stay with Frussie's or do you want to spread your money around to other restaurants? Two dates. . . wow. And I'm not having to pay . . . . Double wow. And hey, have we defined precisely what SK is for purposes of these wagers?

Now that the field is set, can we start a line on the order of finish in the September primary? This will be a very low-turnout. Right now, I think Madeline will come out on top in the primary (maybe high 30's but probably low 40's). Mark and Ivan mid-to-upper 20's (possibly one will hit 30). Hultquist in single digits. My guess is the general election will be much closer than folks think (I think).

EricLykins's picture

Closed for the summer and

Submitted by EricLykins on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 12:57pm.

Closed for the summer and breeding tomatoes.

May return via lunch truck/food cart, but wouldn't be opposed to an existing restaurant absorbing some menu items or partnering with some niche idea (vegetarian?) that might not be profitable on its own. For now, support Harry's. I especially appreciate their use of local beef and would like to see them firmly planted in the community.

Rachel's picture

The primary is not until

Submitted by Rachel on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 2:00pm.

The primary is not until Sept. 27, so let's keep it at Frussies - or at least somewhere in south Knoxville. I like to support local businesses.

And south Knoxville is easy to define - it's precincts 25,26,27,28, and 29.

The bigger problem is that the second wager is that Hultquist won't take enough votes from Madeline in south Knoxville to significantly alter the %s of the other two. I don't really see how we're going to measure that - i.e., how would we know what the percentages would be w/o Hultquist in the race?

I'm still willing to make some kind of bet on Joe not making a big difference, but I don't know how to define it.

And once again, you really think Madeline won't carry south Knoxville? You are downright deluded.

JHayes's picture

Hultquist's petition

Submitted by JHayes on Thu, 2011/06/16 - 11:27pm.

I noticed on Hultquist's petition that basically every person is from South Knoxville. Are any of these people who had been committed to Madeline, or Padgett or Harmon for that matter? A bunch of the names are unknowns to me.

Rachel's picture

I know about half of them.

Submitted by Rachel on Fri, 2011/06/17 - 12:53am.

I know about half of them. There are 4 that I'm sure will be solid Joe supporters. The rest I haven't heard make any commitments but at least some of the ones I know are unlikely to be Harmon or Padgett supporters.

You can't really tell who's a supporter by a petition anyway. Unless I think someone is unethical I will sign pretty much anybody's petition because I think folks should be encouraged to participate in the political process.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Watering hole

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 5:29pm.

My theory is that with Burchett at the helm, the county watering hole is drying up. Developers who rely on public funds are getting desperate.

They may know that Joe Hultquist is like Pavlov's dog. Show him a picture of a train and he will do your bidding. He can't help himself that way. Look how he spread the public pork around on the waterfront.

Rachel's picture

I have no freakin' idea what

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 9:09pm.

I have no freakin' idea what you're talking about on "spreading public pork" - but if you think developers love Joe after he co-chaired the Hillside/Ridgetop Task Force, you're just nuts.

Nelle's picture

Trains?

Submitted by Nelle on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 8:42pm.

Show him a picture of a train and he will do your bidding.

Yes, because soooo many developers are pushing train projects around here.

EconGal's picture

Whoa, Nelle...

Submitted by EconGal on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 7:04am.

Sorry. I've always wanted to say that.

Admittedly, it's a stupid fetish, but less stupid than Twittering nekkd pictues or "hiking the Appalachian Trail."

JHayes's picture

The bigger question

Submitted by JHayes on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 12:54pm.

His views on trains aside, what do you think of his decision to run?

Somebody's picture

Hultquist would ultimately be

Submitted by Somebody on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 4:29pm.

Hultquist would ultimately be like Ralph Nader in any of his various presidential bids. He has no chance of winning. In most cases, he would get to inject some limited discussion of whatever issues he'd like to advocate, and that's about it. In a rare case, like the presidential race of 2000, if things get close enough where margins of error matter, then suddenly he can make a difference, but only by negatively affecting the candidate with conceivably overlapping constituencies, and benefiting whoever he would otherwise least want to help.

In this case, Hultquist likely would mostly pull votes from Rogero, but not many. Where it matters is, if the primary is close, and in a field with four candidates, Rogero still runs somewhere near the 50% mark, Hultquist's presence could force the run-off election. He would not be a part of that run-off, but would force others to spend the time and money to carry out the run-off, and would give someone else their best shot at trying to compete one-on-one with Rogero (and likely quickly forgetting whatever pet issues Hultquist tried to bring up in the primary).

If Hultquist is not particularly a fan of Rogero, then that's that, what does he care? If he or his friends actually do like Rogero, then it would seem better to think of some other way to champion whatever issues he would like to champion. It all just depends on how much he likes or doesn't like Rogero, and how much his own ego plays into that calculation.

cafkia's picture

I too supported Joe's council

Submitted by cafkia on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 5:40pm.

I too supported Joe's council runs and consider him a friend. I do and will continue to support Madeline for Mayor. According to what he told the KNS, he wants to make sure that certain things are included in the conversation. (but he is prepared to win and lead the city) I will not discount the value of the things he wants included but I am skeptical of this being a positive way to do it.

I'm sticking with Madeline.

JHayes's picture

Hultquist

Submitted by JHayes on Tue, 2011/06/14 - 5:50pm.

I think outside of South Knoxville Hultquist really does not have any support. Since it seems his supporters are sticking with Madeline.

I think some of these upcoming forums with him in them will be interesting to see. He has already thrown a few haymakers at the mayoral candidates.

Up Goose Creek's picture

High density

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 3:19pm.

His views on trains aside, what do you think of his decision to run?

Actually JH, I like trains and ride AMTRAK much more than the typical Knoxvillian. But I get the impression that Joe's worldview is that development should be crowded together so that people will be coerced into mass transit.

I've heard Joe opine at a league of women voters presentation that Happy Holler wasn't dense enough for his taste! So naturally I'm scared *@$#less fort my little 900 sf home by the waterfront.

We have a wonderful caring community with minimal crime and neighbors that look out for each other. Joe Hultquist said he expects our property taxes to skyrocket so we will be driven out. Fortunately we seem to keep selling our houses to each other at ridiculously low prices so hopefully that's not likely to happen.

Over the years I've heard several comments from him about the desirablility of taking homes and property by eminent domain. I know this may sound strange to you JH, and I guess incomprehensible to others, but my houses are like my kids to me. How would you feel if someone walked into your home and said your kids were ugly or unproductive and ought to be shot?

bizgrrl's picture

Goose, I hear you.

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 6:28pm.

Goose, I hear you.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Madeline

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Wed, 2011/06/15 - 3:24pm.

The South Knoxville Democrats had our Adopt-a-road clean up on Moody weekend before last. Of 15 or so participants, 10 or 12 were wearing Madeline Shirts. I felt a little embarassed for Mark Padgett who actually showed up to help clean.

So as you enjoy your free lunch at frussies, please admire the nice clean roadway.

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