Partisanship is one of the worst attributes of politics. What good comes about by voting straight down party lines? I have yet to understand why a republican would be better than a democrat, or vice versa, for something like sheriff or property assessor.

I want to say that Rikki is exactly on target here. This article is a must read. I worked with him for Madeline in 2003, and nobody put more into it than did Rikki. It takes a real grown-up and fair-minded person to go here. It would be real hard to argue that Haslam's nonpartisan inclusive approach has not worked very well for the city. Partisanship poisons local politics and probably most politics. I don't agree with Haslam on absolutely everything but I sure like the way he governs and does not hold grudges. I know Madeline feels very pleased with the support she gets from the mayor and he has let her do her job and supported her all along the way. And he tells people what a great job she does. Thank you to Rikki for taking this stand.

Partisanship in local politics has no upside; few local issues break down along partisan lines. It only causes problems and gets in the way of solutions.

I too worked hard for Madeline, but believe Haslam has been a really good Mayor. I like his inclusive approach to governing, and I think he's hired a lot of smart, competent people (from both sides of the political spectrum).

It's both hilarious and very sad to contrast the working of Knoxville City government with the (non)working of Knox County government. Having non-partisan County elections wouldn't fix all the problems, but it certainly would be a step in the right direction.