• WATE has live streaming video.

• KNS is live blogging.

• WBIR is live blogging.

• Lisa Starbuck is live blogging here at KnoxViews

• Steve Drevik is live blogging at his Reform4 blog.

The Knoxville News Sentinel has comments from several County Commissioners regarding the criteria they will use to appoint interim replacements for twelve county offices vacated first by a term limits lawsuit then again by a subsequent "sunshine" lawsuit over the first appointment process.

The special County Commission meeting to appoint interim replacements will be held Wednesday, Feb. 20th at 9AM in the City County Building Main Assembly Room.

Following are the applicants for interim replacements according to the KNS, with links to KNS profiles or resumes submitted by the applicants where available. (Please let me know if this list is not accurate.)

As an editorial comment, I find it interesting and disappointing that none of this is mentioned on the Knox County Commission website.

It's great that they adopted a more open process and conducted a series of public forums for the replacement appointments (prompted by the "sunshine" lawsuit, I'm sure). But there's no announcement of the date, time, or place of the special meeting that I can find on the Knox County website (apologies if I missed it and if someone can find it please let me know), there's no listing of applicants or background information, no minutes or reports from the public forums, no explanation of the process, and no agenda for the meeting. They are leaving it all up to the media to communicate this to the public.

This is pretty lame given the concerns about more "open government" in Knox County. They shouldn't expect the local media (or bloggers for that matter) to do their job for them in terms of outreach and communication, just like the KNS shouldn't have to take them to court to make them do their job out in the open.

(Again, apologies if this information is somewhere on the Knox County or County Commission website. I just wasn't able to find it.)

The Swear Them In and They Vote Them In proposal on filling the County Commission vacancies is just a horrible idea. Who came up with it? I had first heard that it was in a footnote in Chancellor Fansler opinion. This is untrue. It is NOT in Chancellor Fansler's opinion.

For one thing, people would be sworn in and start voting who had not been preparing themselves for such a vote, but trying to win such a vote for themselves. Mostly likely, they will not be reading resumes of various other candidates, talking to various other candidates, etc. If they do start talking among themselves, will they start to lobby each other and cut deals among each other? This presumably would not violate the Open Meetings law, since they are not yet elected to the Commission, but is this a good thing to encourage?

And how would such interplay work out when the candidates start interacting with the Commissioners?

Most importantly, such a procedure will place a premium among the existing commissioners on controlling the order in which seats are filled. We will start to see the same kind of pushing and shoving we saw last time. John Valliant will become involved.

If anyone wants to maximize the "raw politics" we will see in County Commission trying again to fill these vacacncies, by all means, let's do this.

Word has it that Billy Tindell has filed his petition for the County Clerk seat he was supposedly "keeping warm" for Scoobie! Here we go...

Jack McElroy has an update on the KNS lawsuit. He says he hears through informal channels that County Commission might like to settle. McElroy says the KNS is pressing on and discovery will commence any day now.

The topic on WBIR's Inside Tennessee this week (Sunday, WBIR, 9:30 am) will be the KNS lawsuit against Knox County Commission.

KNS Editor and Plaintiff Jack McElroy, Frank Gibson from the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, and County Commissioners Scott Moore and Lumpy Lambert will be the guests. Robin Wilhoit will be moderating.

From KNS Editor Jack McElroy's blog:

As I've mentioned here before, the News Sentinel felt obligated to sue because of the impunity with which the commissioners ignored the Sunshine Law when they picked 12 replacements for term-limited office-holders. This law is one that has no real provision for enforcement other than citizens going to court. Based on the way the Commission behaved on Jan. 31, we figured we either had to sue or acknowledge that, in Knox County, the Open Meetings Act was meaningless.

Read the whole thing, including threats by Moore to go after KNS phone records and reporter's notes when Knox County Law Director John Owings suggested that County Commissioner's phone records and e-mails could come out in discovery.

Say what you will about the KNS, and I've said plenty and had plenty of differences of opinion on their editorial policy (from a political and unfortunately personal standpoint), but the KNS and McElroy are fighting the good fight here, for whatever it's worth.

Maybe it's all for show to sell papers. Or maybe it's symbolic and won't amount to anything in the end. But I'm sensing it's for real, at least on some level. Some stuff is so outrageous that it transcends KNOXGOB business as usual, and there's no more ignoring it or going along because even the most casually informed citizen can tell something is wrong.

OK, then.

The Knoxville News Sentinel explores the Knox County Commission family tree. Plus there's a handy chart. This was in the "local news" section. Maybe it should have been in the "lifestyles" section.

From Scott Barker's KNS article referenced earlier in Disclosures VII regarding newly appointed County Commissioner Richard Cate: "Cate said they've paid their tax bills. "I have a clean bill of health with the IRS and the state tax people and the county tax people," Cate said.

It appears, however, that one of his companies involved in a bankruptcy mentioned in the article (Blaze Fence, listed as administratively dissolved by the Tennessee Secretary of State) owes more than $4200 in unpaid property taxes to Knox County and the City of Knoxville. (Details here, PDF format). There are also unpaid taxes on another piece of property owned by Cate.

Paul Pinkston said he wouldn't consider a nominee who owed back taxes. Did Pinkston vote for Cate? I don't recall. (UPDATE: He did not.)

In a totally unrelated disclosure, there's this from an October 1998 Knoxville News Sentinel article by Tom Humphrey:

The [Registry of Election Finance] is threatening to impose fines on two Knoxvillians for failure to file required reports on their 1998 lobbying activities.

Richard Cate, who registered as a lobbyist for the Downtown Organization of Knoxville, faces a civil penalty of $750. Bill Nolan, a veteran lobbyist who has represented several clients, faces a penalty of $400.

Cate still had not filed his required report, said Peggy Nance Williams, executive director of the registry. Nolan filed but did so past the deadline for doing so, she said.

The point of all this is not to pile on, but that County Commission did not perform due diligence on the nominees and that there were no public meetings to discuss possible issues with these unelected officials.

As a follow up to Disclosures III, the Knoxville News Sentinel's Scott Barker has the details on newly appointed County Commissioner Richard Cate's sexual harassment lawsuit and previous bankruptcies.

According to the article, several commissioners said they did not know about this before voting to appoint Cate to County Commission.

Bonus: bizarro quote from Lumpy Lambert:

"I don't know (Cate) extremely well, but he does not seem like the type to do something like that," Lambert said. "But Ted Bundy didn't either."

Which is why Lumpy is the media's favorite go to guy for commentary on county politics.

Jonathan Wimmer tells all about the secret back room deal he was offered by Lumpy Lambert for a seat on County Commission. There was no gunplay involved.

Scott Barker reports five possible violations of state mandated ethics rules adopted by County Commission.

Those contacted for the article have some great excuses. Scooby says: "I think a reasonable person that comes to commission every month would realize my wife works for the sheriff because y'all have printed it so much." Leuthold said he disclosed his job with the trustee's office in his campaign materials.

As mentioned in comments and elsewhere, Knox Co. Mayor Ragsdale has called for a special election to coincide with the citywide elections slated for September and November of this year.

At the same press conference, he announced nominations for the new ethics committee. He also made this interesting remark:

"it has become evident to me that more needs to be done to examine these issues throughout Knox County Government, including in my own office. I will be asking the Ethics Committee to evaluate the hiring practices of the executive branch first, and I will fully support their efforts."

Not computer literate enough to post link directly, so go to Link...

ED. NOTE: Story here.

ED. UPDATES:

From the article: "The News Sentinel is seeking to void all the appointments made by commissioners, have a permanent injunction laid down by the court requiring that all future deliberations be made in public, and that the case be expedited."

The lawsuit posted at the KNS website (PDF format).

Jack McElroy has more at his blog.

I hate to pile on, and it's not as if Josh Jordan doesn't already have enough troubles, but here's another curiosity.

In his resume submitted to County Commission, Jordan lists his occupation as Owner/Licensed Contractor, M&M TN 1 CONSTRUCTION, LLC. August 2005 – present. Among his duties, he lists "Working with KCDC, Knoxville Urban League, City of Knoxville Community Development and other local companies and programs to find tenants for new and rehabilitated units."

According to the Tennessee Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue revoked the company's charter in November, 2006. There is no reason given, but it could be an indication of tax issues.

Sheriff Tim Hutchison gave out pay raises of up to 22% "just five days after learning that the state Supreme Court's term limits decision meant he would soon be forced from office."

But wait, there's more. The report confirms that term limited commissioner Mark Cawood was hired by newly appointed Sheriff J.J. Jones the day after Cawood voted to appoint Jones. It also says that Cawood first talked to the Sheriff's department about a position last fall, and that a Sheriff's department spokesperson says Hutchison hired him two weeks ago.

In 2004, a federal jury awarded $250,000 to a woman who "alleged she was fired after ending a consensual romantic relationship with the nursing home’s owner." The owner listed in the case is Richard Cate. Is this the same newly appointed Knox County Commissioner Richard Cate? Details of the case can be found here (pg. 7, "Sexual Harassment").

"At least two commissioners who voted for him said they didn’t know about Jordan’s past Wednesday but hope he’s put it behind him.

Here is the court document referenced in the article.

From a comment below, WBIR reports "New Knox County Trustee Fred Sisk announced Friday that [former Trustee Mike] Lowe will remain on staff as Deputy Trustee. Lowe will replace Sisk, who was making $75,000 annually for the same job."

Expect some news over the next few days regarding some commissioners appointed this week and back taxes, and maybe some other things. And don't forget Pinkston saying he couldn't support a nominee who had outstanding taxes.

It doesn't appear County Commission went to much effort to vet the nominees or do much in the way of due diligence. All of this would have been aired if there had been a special election, or at least an official series of public meetings.

Jonathan Wimmer says that Lumpy Lambert offered him a seat on County Commission in exchange for his vote for Lee Tramel. The Knoxville News Sentinel has the details.

Wimmer refused the deal on ethical grounds. He should have taken it. Tramel was a lock. Now the 2nd District has Bolus and Democrats give up a seat to the Hutchison Republicans. Besides, since when does Knox County government involve ethics?

In other news, Ragsdale accused of strong-arm tactics. Looks like Hutchison has the stronger arm.

The Knox County Commission called for candidates interested in filling term limit vacancies to submit a letter and a resume. They put up a website listing the candidates, including some without any letter or resume. This was apparently their idea of an open process.

Three candidates were appointed who were not on the list. Following is a snapshot of the names on the website yesterday and the appointments:

4th COMMISSION DISTRICT CANDIDATES: Scott Davis, Joan Wagner, Lisa Bogaty, William H. Daniels, Robert A. (Archie) Ellis, Jr., James Smelcher, Jr., John Deatherage, Craig Fischer, Debbie Barton, Mike Alford, Richard T. Cate, Ed Shouse, Elaine Davis.

4th DISTRICT APPOINTMENTS: Lee Tramel (not on list), Richard Cate.

5th COMMISSION DISTRICT CANDIDATES: Tom Salter, Marilyn S. Cobble, Pamela Treacy, Teresa Shupp, Gregory Harrison, Kyle H. Phillips, John R. Schoonmaker, Ken Gross.

5th DISTRICT APPOINTMENT: Frank Leuthold (not on list, father of Commissioner Craig Leuthold).

9th COMMISSION DISTRICT CANDIDATES: Josh Lowe, Bob Norton, Rob Huddleston, Matthew Myers.

9th DISTRICT APPOINTMENT: Tim Greene (not on list).

Charles Bolus was on the list for 2nd District, but did not submit a letter or resume.

There were plenty of qualified people who expressed interest. In at least one case (Tramel) and possibly another (Greene), there were more qualified candidates. In other cases there was an opportunity to bring in new, qualified people with fresh perspectives. Clearly that wasn't the plan.

Commissioners Craig Leuthold and Mike Hammond had a "forum" in the 5th District. The News Sentinel reported: "Saturday's crowd burst into applause after Hammond made comments about the process. 'I would much prefer the people make these decisions,' he said." Yeah, right. Note the 5th District appointment above. People who showed up for that forum wasted their time and ended up being insulted by the whole charade.

Mark Harmon was the only Commissioner who at least attempted to have an open process with public input from his district. Some have criticized how it was handled (i.e. not announcing there would be a straw poll that some candidates knew about but others didn't) and some have also questioned why he didn't throw his support to Wimmer when it was clear his recommendation (Amy Broyles, the "people's choice" as he put it) didn't have the votes (the first vote had 6 for Bolus and 6 for Wimmer). But at least he tried to represent his district and seek public input and carry their message to the Commission.

What happened to the pledge to "respect" commissioner's recommendations for their district? Or the plan to replace Democrats with Democrats and Republicans with Republicans?

And what about giving Tindell the bum's rush after the vote for county clerk? The outcome would likely have been quite different had he been able to remain in his seat for the rest of the proceeding. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the surprise parliamentary maneuvering to remove him.

Live blogging from the Knox County Commission special meeting to appoint replacements for vacancies created by the term-limits ruling. Running commentary after the list of appointments.

Sheriff (Tim Hutchison): J.J. Jones
County Clerk (Mike Padgett): Billy Tindell
Trustee (Mike Lowe): Fred Sisk
Register of Deeds (Steve Hall): Sherry Witt

County Commission:
1st District (Diane Jordan): Josh Jordan
2nd District (Billy Tindell): Charles Bolus
4th District A (John Schmid): Richard Cate
4th District B (Phil Guthe): Lee Tramel
5th District (John Griess): Frank Leuthold
6th District (Mark Cawood): Sharon Cawood
8th District (John Mills): Jack Huddleston
9th District (Larry Clark): Tim Greene

8:38 We are on the scene at the City County bldg. Local media is here and commissioners are huddling. Beanster just showed up.

8:57 Call to order and roll call. Lumpy Lambert absent. Prayer, pledge. Scoobie: "Play Ball!" Oh wait, recess to wait for Lumpy.

9:06 Lumpy's here, call to order. Call for nominations for Sheriff. All pass. Smith: "What are we doing here?" nominates J.J. Jones.

Only name in nomination for Sheriff is JJ Jones. Vote. 18-0 1 pass (Schmid). Jones gets it at 9:09. Jones being sworn in at 9:11. Two minute recess to wait for judge to swear him in. 9:20 Jones sworn in by Judge Workman.

9:21 County Clerk nominations. Billy Tindell, George Stooksbury. Nomination from the floor: Jeffery Lawhorn. Tindell 14, Stooksbury 4. Tindell appointed. Question to law director. Tindell's seat now vacant. Can't vote. (Betty: Tindell out of office for the first time in 30 years.) Question: If he isn't sworn in yet, why is his seat vacant. Motion to swear him in and appoint someone to his seat. (Scoobie: the votes aren't going to be close. Schmid: Do you know something we don't?) Debate about process. Motion to vote. Griess moves to go by law directors opinion. Agreed, Schmid and Harmon vote no.

9:34 Nominations for Register of Deeds. Sherry Witt. Scott Emge. Vote: Witt 17, Emge 1 (Mark Harmon). Witt appointed.

9:37 Nominations for Trustee: Fred Sisk, One nomination. Sisk appointed, Unanimous.

9:40 Guthe moves for 4th district to go first since both commissioners are being replaced. Agreed. Nominations for 4th district seat A: Elaine Davis (Mark Harmon), Schmid: my nominee (Fisher) withdrew because of article in paper re. sunshine law. Scott Davis (Schmid). Griess nominates Fisher. Schmid: he asked to be withdrawn. Withdrawn. Lee Tramel (Lambert). Mark Harmon withdraws Elaine Davis. Greiss nominates Richard Cate. Tramel 4, Cate 10, Scott Davis 4. Richard Cate appointed 4th District Seat A.

9:49 4th District Seat B nomination. Elaine Davis (Mark Harmon). Jim Smeltzer (Guthe). Scott Davis (Hammond). Lee Tramel (Lambert). William Daniels (Smith). From the floor: Ed Shouse. Vote (fifth round) Tramel 8, Scott Davis 9. (Guthe passed.) Must have 10 votes.

10:10 Ten minute recess called. (Rumor is: Davis will get it. Guthe is the center of attention. New rumor: Swear in Cates so he can vote?

10:34 Convening. Greiss moves item be moved to end of agenda and proceed. Schmid objects. Roll call. Defeated. Voting again on 4th district seat B.

10:38 Sixth vote on 4th District Seat B: Jordon changed her vote, Guthe changed from pass to Davis. Tramel 9, Davis 9. Seventh, correction, eighth round: still deadlocked. Motion to postpone. Defeated. Ninth vote: still deadlocked. Two minute recess. (Reports that Cates was in the middle of being sworn in during the previous break but when the media converged they called it off...)

10:58 Reconvened. Smith moves to allow Tramel and Davis to speak for three minutes. Required 2/3 vote to change agenda. Motion fails. Tenth vote: Still deadlocked nine to nine.

11:01 Griess moves to put the vote at the end of the agenda. Requires 2/3 vote. Motion passes.

11:03 Nominations for 1st District. Jordan nominates Josh Jordan. Helen Lewis (Mark Harmon). Nick Della Volpe (Smith). From the floor: Jimmy Golan/Golden (?) (self), Robin Brothers (self). Vote: Jordan 16, Lewis 1, Della Volpe 1. Josh Jordon appointed.

11:09 2nd District nominations. Amy Broyles (Mark Harmon) John Wimmer (Norman). Debra Porter (Smith). Charles Bolus (Moore). From the floor: Chuck Williams. Vote (third round): Bolus 6, Wimmer 6, Porter 3, Broyles 3. Recess called at 11:21.

11:35 Resumed. Fourth vote: Bolus 11, Wimmer 5, Porter 1, Broyles 2. Bolus wins. (Got an extra vote there, not sure where the error is.)

11:38 Nominations for 5th district. Teresa Shupp (Norman). Frank Leuthold (Griess). Robin Butler (Lambert). From the floor: Tom Salter. Vote: Shupp 1, Leuthold 15, Salter 1, Butler 1. Leuthold appointed.

11:46 Nominations for 6th District. Sharon Cawood (Lambert), Howard Phillips (Smith), Jimmy Shelton from the floor. Vote: Cawood 15, (others drowned out by applause).

11:48 Nominations for 8th District: Maurice Freed (Harmon), Jack Huddleston (Mills), Kay Fazier (floor), Tom Pressley (floor, Bill Young). Vote: Huddleston 17 Freed 1.

11:54 9th District nominations. Martin Pleasant (Mark Harmon), Tim Greene (Clark). From the floor: Josh Lowe, Matt Meyers (by Josh Lowe), joke nominee "the good guest" who knows when it's time to pack up and go home, Ruby Wright (self), Ronald Lee Tucker (rants about the "travesty" and says he will keep talking until they making him leave, Scoobie says "then I'll have to ask you to leave"). Vote: Greene 16, Pleasant 1. Greene Appointed.

12:00 Recess called.

12:04 Rumor: Chuck Bolus sworn in, may seat him to try to break the deadlock. Tramel in?

12:08 Reconvened. Bolus takes Tindell's seat.

12:10 Mark Harmon, point of order: notice someone new seated. Objects to swearing in one commissioner instead of all as previously agreed. Law director: this was always a possibility. Bolus has taken the oath, filed it with the clerk. He may take his seat. Schmid: Stinks! Despicable, underhanded, something to that effect. Insult to the people of the 4th district. Guthe: should we now start over for 4th District nominations? Law director: Yes, because Bolus was not involved in nominations. Lumpy: Can others be sworn in? Lumpy moves to recess to swear in replacements. Scooby, this was always a possibility. Anyone can get sworn in if they want. Guthe withdraws motion. Scoobie asks if anybody wants to be sworn in.

12:16 Start 4th District B nominations all over again. Elaine Davis (Mark Harmon), William Daniels (Norman), Lee Tramel (Ivan Harmon), Jim Smeltzer (Guthe) Scott Davis (Hammond). Scott Davis (from the floor) withdraws name from nomination. Tramel 12, Daniels 1, Smeltzer 4, Davis 1. Tramel appointed.

And that's all folks!

UPDATE: Speculation is that Ragsdale was the loser today, and now he's looking at a tough budget with a new under/unfunded pension, and no votes on county commission to raise any new taxes. One person remarked that "we just witnessed a sheriff who is out of office take over Knox County government."

Whatever it was we watched today, it was historic (as radio talk show host Hubert Smith who was sitting nearby put it) and from my point of view it was fascinating.

And not knowing who all these people were or the names being thrown around or all the power plays and insider trading going on, I REALLY appreciate Betty Bean helping me at least get some of the names spelled right. I'm sure she will have a full play by play of all the inside baseball and dynamics at play in the next Halls Shopper. Scott Barker will likely have a good report in tomorrow's News Sentinel, too.

Photos after the jump...

It is our understanding that there may be a "vote" or a straw poll or something of that nature at tonight's public forum at Whittle Springs Middle School, and that the outcome will be relayed to County Commissioners as they deliberate replacements.

It is also our understanding that not all candidates may have heard about this and therefore may not have been campaigning to get supporters to the forum.

It's not clear how this would work, because all candidates and the general public are invited, so there could be voters (and candidates) from any district.

Reminder: Public forum tonight, Monday, January 29th, starting at 6pm in the WHITTLE SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, 2700 White Oak Lane (the corner of Whittle Springs and White Oak). "Public, candidates, commissioners, and all interested parties are invited." More details here.

Also: the KNS, WBIR, and WNOX host a one hour program on WBIR Channel 10 TV At 7 PM tonight, Monday, Jan. 29th, to "explain who's in contention and to offer perspective from journalists, public officials and others."

The Knox County Commission will vote on replacements to fill the vacancies created by the recent term limits decision this Wednesday, Jan. 31st.

UPDATE: County Commission has put up this website with candidate info.

Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison speaks out, says "he supports [his top officer's] choice of Administrative Deputy J.J. Jones."

Public Forums:

So far we are aware of two ad hoc public forums for replacement candidates to meet with the public:

According to the KNS, commissioners Leuthold and Hammond are holding an open public forum for 5th District candidates, Saturday Jan. 27th from 10:00 AM to 12 Noon at the Cedar Bluff library branch.

Commissioner Mark Harmon has organized an open public forum scheduled for Monday, January 29th, starting at 6pm in the Fulton High School Auditorium. UPDATE: EVENT MOVED TO WHITTLE SPRINGS MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, 2700 White Oak Lane (the corner of Whittle Springs and White Oak). "Public, candidates, commissioners, and all interested parties are invited." More details here.

If you are aware of any other public forums, meetings, discussions, etc., please let us know in comments and we will post updates.

Local TV News:

The KNS, WBIR, and WNOX are hosting a one hour program on WBIR Channel 10 TV At 7 PM Monday, Jan. 29th, to "explain who's in contention and to offer perspective from journalists, public officials and others."

If you are aware of any other local TV broadcasts for discussion of/with replacement candidates, please let us know in comments and we will post updates.

Online:

Online, the Knoxville News Sentinel has this website with a list of persons seeking appointments, including letters and resumes where available.

(KNS writers are posting frequent background/updates at Michael Silence's blog.)

WATE has compiled this list of candidates.

WBIR has this site with a news archive and candidate lists with letters and resumes. (Thanks, Katie!)

KnoxViews has compiled this list. Please let us know of any updates or additions in comments on that post.

KnoxViews also has this extensive, up to date archive on the controversy.

In the case of Della Volpe v. Jordan and the Knox County Election Commission:

The only issue before this Court is whether or not the election involving Mr. Della Volpe and Commissioner Jordan is to be certified as a valid election, and I think the Supreme Court by virtue of declaring vacancies in these offices has already declared that it is a void election, and this Court doesn’t need to take any additional steps in that regard. I think the controversy that was before this Court has been rendered moot by the decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court. I think they have already made that ruling.

So if you want to certify something to the Commission, Mr. Della Volpe, you may prepare an order to the effect that this Court finds that the decision has already been made by the Tennessee Supreme Court that the election in August 2006 involving term-limited officers in Knox County was in fact a void election...

Does this mean the runners-up in those elections are the rightful officeholders? It could also seem to affect whether term-limited commissioners currently serving get a vote, or whether it is up to the remaining commissioners, or whether the runners-up (where there was opposition) automatically fill the vacancies.

But, this would be in conflict with the Tennessee Supreme Court order that current officeholders will continue to serve until they are replaced, and that the County Commission will replace them.

Sounds like this could get interesting. Or maybe I'm reading it all wrong?

(Here's a PDF of the ruling, courtesy of Scott Emge.)

Former Knox County Commissioner Madeline Rogero recalls a controversy surrounding a School Board vacancy several years ago.

Being new on the County Commission, Rogero was surprised that a presumed nominee was selected to fill the vacancy without consulting commissioners in the district. She notes "backroom politicking was in full swing."

She mobilized residents in her district and organized a public forum which was widely attended and got significant media coverage. As a result, Dr. Paul Kelly emerged as the only nominee, and was appointed with the unanimous support of the community and County Commission.

Madeline Rogero concludes: "I respect my fellow commissioners who, fifteen years ago, listened to the will of the voters. They had the authority to make an arbitrary, expedient, political appointment. They chose instead to open the process, participate in our forum, listen to the potential candidates, and then pick the best qualified. Should we not expect the same of our county commission today?"

Read her full account after the jump...

Charles S. Giles II forwards his letter (PDF format) seeking appointment to County Commission for the 6th District:

I intend to be an active member of the Knox County Commission and have the desire to represent the residents of Knox County by opposing any annexation efforts by the City of Knoxville or any other government agencies outside the boundaries of Knox County.

I pledge to be conservative with the taxpayer dollars, but at the same time to make sure that essential services are available to all Knox County residents.

I am a proponent of good educational values and hold education as one of my top priorities. Investing in the educational values of our community will reap benefits that will help to strengthen our society as a whole.

Giles says crime and seniors' issues are also priorities. He says he is an Independent and not a member of either the Democratic or Republican party. He pledges to serve only on an interim basis, but does not rule out seeking future office.