Media reaction to the Tennessee Supreme Court ruling on term limits (text of the decision here in PDF format):

KNS: 12 Incumbents may be booted - In an unprecedented move, the Knox County Election Commission took initial steps Wednesday to remove from the May 2 ballot two-thirds of the incumbent county commissioners seeking re-election. [..] Before removing the names, the Election Commission voted to meet again Friday to hear from those commissioners and see if they would all voluntarily agree to be taken off the ballot.

KNS: Commissioners say they'll follow the law - whatever the result - Knox County commissioners who might be affected by Wednesday's court ruling on term limits said they plan on adhering to the law - although they're not sure exactly what that will ultimately mean.

Halls Shopper: Term limits ruling: A great day - This ruling is absolutely proper and leaves one to wonder: 1) why it took 12 years to affirm a decision the voters made so clearly; and 2) why the elected law director for Knox County never litigated to enforce the people’s will.

WBIR: State Supreme Court upholds term limits; could mean big change in Knox County government - The Knox County Election Commission met Wednesday afternoon. Knox County Law Director Mike Moyers told them the ruling appears to disqualify county commissioners who have already served at least two terms, but what comes next is still very much up in the air.

WATE: How will Supreme Court ruling affect term limits in Knox County? - In 1994, the people of Knox County voted to limit county officials to two terms. A lower court later overruled that vote of the people. But Wednesday, the state Supreme Court, ruling on a case in Shelby County, said the lower court was wrong and term limits should stand, creating a major problem for the upcoming election in Knox County. Law Director Mike Moyers said Wednesday afternoon the ruling for Shelby County can be understood to apply to Knox County as well, affecting those commissioners who have served two full terms since limits were imposed.

WVLT: State Supreme Court ruling knocks 12 incumbents off ballot - Moyers says this is a first for Knox County. One the election commission has never had to deal with before. He says the commission doesn't have the authority to remove a candidate from the ballot, but state coordinator of elections Brook Thompson and attorney general Paul Summers say otherwise. "If the election commission does not take these persons who appear to be disqualified off the ballot, then I don't think we can reopen the qualifying deadline until by whatever other legal process occurred they were taken off the ballot," Moyers said.

From Memphis:

Memphis Flyer: STATE SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS COUNTY'S TERM LIMITS LAW - The high Court found, as Chancellor Tene Alissandratos had earlier, that the provision of the county charter imposing the two-term limit was authorized by Tennessee Code Annotated section 5-1-201(4). The Court also ruled that the charter provision was the result of a lawful delegation of the legislature's power to establish qualifications for elected county officers and was therefore not in violation of Article VII of Tennessee's constitution.

Commercial Appeal: Tennessee Supreme Court's ruling knocks Commissioners Bailey and Kirk off ballot - "I'm not going to jump off the nearest bridge, but I am a bit disappointed with the court ruling," Bailey, an elected commissioner since 1971, said in an afternoon news conference. He had hoped the court would render a ruling that would "uphold the right of the people in my district to elect their candidate of choice." Bailey's legal team is researching whether there is a chance to appeal at the federal level, but he said he would be happy to get back to just being a trial lawyer.