If you folks in Blount Co. had any doubt who you should vote for tomorrow for County Mayor, read the front page profile of the candidates in today's Maryville Daily Times.

According to the article, Cunningham says people should vote for him because he's "the only one with any leadership capability."

Oh, really?

Read more after the jump...

Joe Gallagher ran the Blount Co. Kerry campaign in 2004. With little or no help from the national or state Democratic organizations (who had written us off), Gallagher organized Blount Co. Democrats like never before. He got them involved, he got them out to rallies, and he got them fired up. Blount Co. Democrats were in fact so fired up that 13,000+ of them showed up to vote for Kerry, which is more votes than the last Republican Blount County Mayor received to get elected.

You would think Cunningham might have noticed this, and be a little worried. You'd think he might also notice that more Republicans voted against him than voted for him in the May primary, and that this might concern him, too. On the contrary, Cunningham is so confident that Blount Co. voters are sheep who will dutifully go to the polls and vote for the GOP Good Old Boys and their candidate, whoever it is, that he won't debate Gallagher on the issues, and, according to the article, incredibly has spent no money campaigning for most of June and July. This is an insult to the voters of Blount Co.

But even more incredible is his outrageous proposal to limit the involvement of Blount Co. residents in the county's business. According to the article, he says public involvement is OK, but "there's a time and a place" for it. He proposes that the time and place is before meetings, and that "once the gavel drops" the public should not be allowed to speak or question commissioners during County Commission meetings. I suppose this idea is popular with the Good Old Boys who want to cook up more deals like the Alcoa "R&D" Park with little or no public notice or discussion. Every voter in Blount Co. should be aware of this revelation about Cunningham's attitude toward taxpayers and residents of Blount Co., and what he thinks of their opinions.

According to the article, Cunningham also says "the less government the better." Oh, really? I guess he didn't see the front page headline today that the Blount Co. Sheriff has graciously decided to resume patrols that had been suspended due to lack of funding, but doesn't know how long he will be able to keep them up. He must be satisfied that the Blount Co. school system can't get funding to correct the serious overcrowding issues, and doesn't believe the government should be "intruding" in the serious racial tensions prevalent in Blount Co. schools. I'm sure he's thrilled with the "less government intrusion" in the Overlook at Montvale development on Chilhowee Mountain, which forced Happy Valley residents to sue Blount Co. to make them enforce environmental, zoning, and development regulations. Yes, more "less government" is exactly what Blount Co. needs.

Cunningham says in the article that Gallagher has "alienated" local officials and that's not how you do business in Blount Co. So let's see. Gallagher wants responsible, sustainable growth that preserves the natural beauty of the area. Gallagher is for conservation and protecting the environment. Gallagher wants responsible operation of local government, and has proposed a top to bottom independent audit of every department. So, who do you suppose feels "alienated" by these positions? And why do you suppose Cunningham won't debate him about it?

Heaven forbid a candidate should propose working for the people to make a better community. Especially if the people's interests don't necessary align with special interests. But as Joe Gallagher says, "it's time for a change." And throughout this campaign, Joe Gallagher is the only guy in Blount Co. who has stepped up to the challenge.

Vote for Joe Gallagher for Blount County Mayor.