Sun
Jan 27 2008
09:29 am
MPC appointment
By: jbr

I see Ragsdale kept up his M.O. with latest MPC appointment. Under the radar appointment while everyone looking the other way, of yet another commissioner with a heavy conflict of interest. Heavy equipment sales owner. Wonder how those votes will go.

(link...)
lotta's picture

There are more

Submitted by lotta on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 12:03pm.

Three new commissioners were appointed en masse last month. There were a few new non-developers appointed in the last year so while it's still top heavy with development interests, it's more balanced today than it was a year ago. The next few appointments will be telling.

Rachel's picture

He also appointed Nick

Submitted by Rachel on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 4:46pm.

He also appointed Nick Pavlis, who used to be an at-large City Council member, and plans to run for Joe Hultquist's seat when Joe is term-limited out in 2009. Perhaps I'm cynical, but I see shades of R. Larry Smith here. MPC can be a wonderful platform to grandstand from.

His third appt, Laura Cole, should be a good one.

And BTW, I don't buy the argument that MPC is more balanced. It's still way heavy with developers, development interests, and developer's friends.

Bbeanster's picture

Rachel, give Nick Pavlis a

Submitted by Bbeanster on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 5:37pm.

Rachel, give Nick Pavlis a chance before you pass judgment.

He really evolved during his City Council service. In fact, by the end of his time, he'd become a Malone ally. This month was his first meeting, and he voted pretty much the same way as Laura Cole, I believe. (I'm quite certain someone will correct me if I'm wrong on this, but there was a noticeable difference in the way the votes I was watching for went).

And giving credit where it is due, I'd like to put in a plug for Becky Longmire, who has been doing hard, thankless work since her appointment.

Rachel's picture

I like Nick a lot

Submitted by Rachel on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 6:54pm.

I like Nick a lot personally, but thought his Council voting record was pretty developer friendly (and non-historic preservation friendly, BTW). However, he does get huge kudos for standing up to Victor.

I'm still worried that he was appointed mostly to use MPC as a platform for running for Council. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but the timing is suspect.

And yeah, Becky Longmire is a good 'un.

Bbeanster's picture

Well, I checked with Laura,

Submitted by Bbeanster on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 8:22pm.

Well, I checked with Laura, and my recollection is correct -- Nick voted with her on several contested matters.

Rachel's picture

Nice to hear. I try to

Submitted by Rachel on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 11:14pm.

Nice to hear.

I try to watch at least some of every MPC meeting, but this one got past me.

My big gripe with MPC appts is that the Mayors get to make them without any confirmation process. That basically means that the first time the public hears about the appt is when the new commissioner shows up for his/her first meeting.

I realize state law doesn't require confirmation. Still, the Mayors could be more open and inclusive in the processes they use to pick commissioners if they wanted to be.

jbr's picture

How would you folks with

Submitted by jbr on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 11:33pm.

How would you folks with more experience with current group of commissioners summarize those up for replacement this year?

Donaldson
Clancy
Johnson
Lobetti

Rachel's picture

Art Clancy never met a

Submitted by Rachel on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 12:02am.

Art Clancy never met a development he didn't like. I've seen himself twist himself into a pretzel to justify voting for one.

And he doesn't do a very good job hiding his disdain for neighborhoods either. Or at least that's been my experience.

jbr's picture

Looks like a good

Submitted by jbr on Tue, 2008/01/29 - 1:10am.

Looks like a good opportunity to move toward a more representative group. Anything over two development centric commissioners is too many in my opinion. Just not an accurate representation of the public. The process is flawed. Considering the power this group has, just letting a mayor appoint someone is wrong.

knoxvegas99's picture

Rachel is abolutely right.

Submitted by knoxvegas99 on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 5:30pm.

Rachel is abolutely right. It takes a strong stomach to watch this panel operate month in and month out as they twist, turn and squirm to uphold the principle of "property rights." The odds are tilted heavily in favor of developers.

I agree that Laura Cole is a welcome addition, however, as was Michael Kane.

Larry Van Guilder

jbr's picture

Maybe if the mayors etc got

Submitted by jbr on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 8:39pm.

Maybe if the mayors etc got out more among the general population they would quit recycling the same folks in different jobs for decades. Also they might have a more accurate grasp of what the general populace sees,feels,thinks.

Bizzy's picture

If...

Submitted by Bizzy on Sun, 2008/01/27 - 11:39pm.

...The general population dines at Regis for lunch, then the Mayor is already out there among them and if he thinks the general populace wanted a wheel tax, he's right on.

Up Goose Creek's picture

Term limits?

Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 7:53pm.

Would Nick Pavlis be term limited already?

____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs

Rachel's picture

Interesting question, isn't

Submitted by Rachel on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 10:28pm.

Interesting question, isn't that?

My guess is that the only way we'll find out is if somebody files a suit. I'm sure his claim will be a) it's a different seat, and b) he's sat out a couple of terms, so it's ok if he comes back.

Bbeanster's picture

No, it's not a particularly

Submitted by Bbeanster on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 10:37pm.

No, it's not a particularly interesting question, at all. Jean Teague already did it.

Rachel's picture

Forgot about that. But

Submitted by Rachel on Mon, 2008/01/28 - 10:56pm.

Forgot about that. But nobody challenged her. Not that I think anybody will challenge Nick either. But it would be interesting to see what a court would say.

jbr's picture

Looking at the four MPC

Submitted by jbr on Wed, 2008/03/12 - 2:06am.

Looking at the four MPC appointments up at some point this year it looks like Clancy and Johnson should be replaced with someone not in a development related industry if the mayors have an interest in making the commission representative of the community.

I cannot tell from the web site from what is the work background of Donaldson. Can someone provide some info?

(link...)

ART CLANCY, III
Term 2004-2008
City - Haslam
Co-founder and CEO of Architectural Millwork Specialist Inc. He is former president of the Knoxville Remodelers Council, and has served on the boards of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Knoxville

HERBERT L. DONALDSON, Sr.
Term 1998-2008
City - Haslam

STAN JOHNSON
Term 2004-2008
County - Ragsdale
Stan is CEO of S & J Ventures, Inc., a development company.

ROBERT M. LOBETTI
Term 2004-2008
County - Ragsdale

Bill Lyons's picture

Stan Johnson

Submitted by Bill Lyons on Wed, 2008/03/12 - 9:05am.

Just an FYI that Stan Johnson now works full time for Chris Woodhull at Tribe One. For those of you who don't know....

"The vision of Tribe One is that we will empower our youth to remain alive and free, to help them learn to respect human life and respect themselves, to make friends who will not lead them into danger, and to make change by changing themselves first. The young people we work with are typically urban minorities in Knoxville ages 16-28."

I have had many conversations with Stan in the past year and can safely say that his perspective is very broad.

Rachel's picture

Stan Johnson is a nice guy

Submitted by Rachel on Wed, 2008/03/12 - 9:52am.

Stan Johnson is a nice guy and is acessible as a Commissioner. However, when I called him to talk about the south waterfront form-based codes before MPC voted on them, he told me that he wasn't sure MPC should be "in the business of telling people what to do with their property." Since that's pretty much what MPC does, I was quite mystified at that statement.

I believe Herb Donaldson is retired from TVA.

lotta's picture

Doesn't anyone care about the agenda?

Submitted by lotta on Wed, 2008/03/12 - 9:27pm.

Has anyone taken a look at the agenda? See anything interesting?

Ragsdale2010's picture

Stowers has something Ragsdale needs

Submitted by Ragsdale2010 (not verified) on Wed, 2008/03/12 - 8:25am.

Stowers equipment maintains a fleet of aircraft that Ragsdale wants to ride on across the state, such that he can play big shot again, since his budget for airline tickets is about to vanish.

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