Pickens: "I bet Moore and others have much more to lose than the paper."

I sure think so. The comment I left at McElroy's site was that I expected Commission would regret not settling the suit early on.

The litigation process will be one that wears both parties down, though. I hope folks don't neglect to urge McElroy on, after this initial uproar subsides.

Can the commission legally re-do the appointments? Wouldn't the 12 appointees have to step down, the commission re-seat those dumped by the State Supreme Court, and then let the re-seated 8 vote for their replacements again? It all doesn't seem very legal.

The County Law Director spoke to this question in detail yesterday. I will have it on YouTube later today.

The first four parts on the Special Election are ready on YouTube Channel 9. You can find them here.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

The Special Election doesn't look so good after Bud Gilbert describes the mechanics of it. Of concern to all voters should be the "law of unintended consequences".

This question was posed by a couple of folks on a couple of threads yesterday, Hoseman. My thought (subject to review by those who know more than I) was that the Bailey decision in Shelby County offered a precedent. There, the Supreme Court held that the term-limited Commissioners, who continued to serve beyond the time local law allowed, *could* nevertheless vote to name their replacements because they served in a "de facto" capacity. Knox County's term-limited eight named their replacements, too, of course.

If we apply that same logic again now, I suggested that the new appointees possibly *could* vote on a settlement of the N-S suit (although they opted out of that course yesterday).

However, since the Sunshine Law effectively voids all public business conducted outside the public's scrutiny, I would think that new appointees *could not* participate in any "do-over" of the appointment process, with or without a court order. In that scenario, I would assume that the "voided" meeting would serve to invalidate the existence of the new appointees on Commission, and that the term-limited folks would then need to return to "do-over" the appointment process in a more public manner.

Of course, I am a housewife with absolutely no qualification to opine :-)

How bad would it be to let this commission try to work, and then go vote in the election?

How bad is it going to be to let George Bush fill out his term?

Seriously, the way these guys were appointed leave people with zero faith in county govt. That should be a big deal, although it doesn't seem to faze people like Scott Moore.

A "do-over" would almost have to be done with public input, etc. Even Scoobie wouldn't dare use the same process he used last time (or maybe that's wishful thinking).

I think at least two of the new Commissioners would very likely NOT be re-appointed.

who talked like he knew everyone in North Knoxville and at the City County Building.

He probably does. Not that that is necessarily a good thing.

Came over and collected the money personally?
Had a drink with you?
Knew all the right people?
Yep, that's Richard in a nutshell.
You know, of course, that the fence company went bankrupt, as did the company that had to pay the judgment against him.
You might want to think about the picture you just painted.