The Intergovernmental and Finance Committees met this morning. I serve on Intergovernmental. All our scheduled business (including adoption of an ethics code and requesting opening of the parking garage) was put on the consent agenda and passed. The remaining time was spent on two motions regarding replacement of the term-limited office holders.

Commissioner Phil Guthe pressed for a special election. Law Director John Owings insisted we had no state authority to do such. I asked him to look at him from the perspective of not what state law allowed, but whether any state law prohibited. He was unmoved.

Commissioner Greg Lambert, unfairly pilloried in some posts, is pushing for quick state legislative action to allow for a special election that would permit winners to serve until 2010. He believes the prospect of running two or three times in quick succession will deter good candidates.

We have an honest disagreement on that. I propose a plan (details follow) for a quick, non-binding public referendum. Commissioners would get around the law director (and supporter) objections by still voting to appoint, but we would ignore the public's stated preferences at our peril. It's far from perfect, but I think better than waiting six months of more for a possible special election and better than a direct appointment scheme. More follows.

Mark Harmon

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MARK HARMON

Pursuant to the Tennessee Supreme Court decision in Jordan et al. v. Knox County, Tennessee, et al. the legislative body of Knox County, the Knox County Commission, must select eight new county commissioners to replace those who are term-limited. The commissioners also must select new persons to serve as sheriff, trustee, county clerk, and register of deeds because those persons also have been declared term-limited by the Court decision.

To accomplish these tasks we will enact the following process:

For a period of two weeks, beginning January 23rd, persons interested in these vacant positions in Knox County government, may submit written nominations of themselves specifying which position they seek. In the case of the Fourth County Commission District it will be sufficient to state County Commissioner without indicating seat A or B. Applicants also may submit a summary of what they believe to be their qualifications for the position sought. These applications and summaries will be available for inspection on the county web site and in the county commission office.

All applications and supporting material must be received by the close of business on Tuesday February 6th. During the next ten days, February 7th to the 16th, the Commission will have one or more public forums during which the applicants can answer questions from the currently serving commissioners, including those serving until their replacements take office.

From February 17th through the 24th the Election Commission will conduct and supervise a plebiscite at the usual early voting locations and hours in Knox County. Voters will be presented with a ballot allowing them to express a candidate preference in all four county-wide offices (sheriff, trustee, county clerk, and register of deeds) as well as a preference in the commission district in which they reside. Voters in the Fourth District may indicate a preference for two commission applicants. In the other commission districts with only one commission seat to be filled each voter may indicate a preference for only one applicant.

A special called meeting of the Knox County Commission on February 26th the Election Commission will present the results of the plebiscite, indicating for each office the preference vote totals for each applicant. At that time a motion would be in order for appointing the applicants with the greatest number of preference votes to the offices sought, and in Commission District Four appointing the two applicants with the greatest number of preference votes. County Commission would be free to amend the preference vote motion (though this is strongly not recommended), but in no case could appoint a person who was not an applicant for the position.

The persons selected through this process shall serve in these positions until the next Knox County general election in 2008. They and others can seek election to a full-term through the normal mechanisms.

OTHER QUICK NOTES:
My proposal and that of the special election request both went forward to the full commission with no recommendation. I believe the same thing happened at the Finance Committee meeting.
Wednesday the 17th (tomorrow) is the Cable TV committe meeting, 8:30 a.m. Room 640 of City County Bldg. Mike Hammond chairs. I'm vice chair. I expect issues like: franchise renewal, full payment of franchise fees, incomplete and behind-schedule builds (especially Knology), pending state and federal changes that could further weaken franchise agreement rules. If you know of others, please contact me (markdharmon@yahoo.com).