Robert is smart, creative and compassionate -- just the kind of person we need in government. He's a man of integrity. I've known him for almost 30 years, and I know he would make a great city councilman.

Can he provide some specifics on what he means here?

Additionally, the design of the James White Parkway extension must be monitored to ensure the road will have minimal impact on neighborhoods and be an asset to the First District.

I'm not sure Robert is "ok" with the road. He just knows fighting TDOT is a tough battle.

I think he feels that IF it is built, it should be built to very different standards than the older part - as he said, an urban parkway. That would also mean a limited # of exits, which TDOT has already signaled some agreement with.

I oppose the completion, but I think Robert's position is a pragmatic one, and probably what I would say myself if I were running.

"That woman" who ran against Joe Hultquist is Julia Tucker. I do not think she would be a better Council member than Robert.

He should speak frankly with voters. TDOT isn't voting.

Is Mr. Marlino considering an At-Large run in 2011? Also, I have heard the same for Mr. Hultquist. Does anyone know if either of these are true or not?

Is Mr. Marlino considering an At-Large run in 2011? Also, I have heard the same for Mr. Hultquist. Does anyone know if either of these are true or not?

Mr. Marlino is considering an at-large run. Stress on considering. Has not made a decision.

I don't know about Joe, but I doubt it. Many of us who supported him in the past would not support him for another run because of term limits.

I think Marlino should and Hultquist should not. I have seen what Hultquist is/was made of and I am very unimpressed with his service. I believe that Marlino has more to offer than Hultquist. I will be very interested to see/hear the names that will come up over the course of the next several months in relation to the at-large spots. I think it would be interesting to have an additional person from the 1st District in there as well as the 6th. I think we need to kick out the extra West representation that they have continued to have over the last several years, just my opinion.

Marlino might be ok. Looks like some good potential based on his background.

Hultquist did some good things. I recall his making good strong comments regarding the Dollar General store and yet another attempt at ignoring the community and established zoning on John Sevier ((link...)) and his efforts with the mountaintop development controls. However to me he seemed very defensive about any resistance to the James White Parkway. Which I question the validity of that sort of infrastructure development through downtown Knoxville and particularly on the south side of the river.

I don't know whether I would support Mr. Marlino in an At Large Council race. I certainly wouldn't support Joe Hultquist. Of course I supported Mr. Pavlis for Council over Mr. Marlino and unlike some here, was thoroughly unimpressed by Mr. Marlino's candidacy and campaign. Were I to guess, I should think both Ray Abbas and Ken Knight will also be considering At Large campaigns. Both made very strong showings and it seems to me both would have as much expectation, if not more so, of being elected as would Robert Marlino. Certainly I would like to see fewer West Knoxvillians sitting on City Council in the At Large positions. I suppose I would have to hear the tone of the campaign before making a decision as to whom to support.

Well Rachel nice of you to take notice and we all know equally well how much you think of and for Mr. Marlino. And for your information, I would certainly wait see who the other candidates are and what they stand for before making up my mind, thank you very much. You certainly seem to feel the need to share your opinion extravagantly and I don't feel my own opinion is of one iota less value than your own, which likely comes as a shock to you. Obviously you don't like my opinion, which is certainly your right. I don't expect to agree with everyone and I do enjoy reading what other people have to say and it oftentimes makes me think from a different perspective.

Evidently you find it amazing for anyone not to have been impressed with Mr. Marlino.

There are things about Marlino's campaign that intrigued and unimpressed me.

What unimpressed me was his ability to communicate in the forum set, which I thought did not get better as the campaign went on, and might have actually gotten worse. Also, someone failed on putting those endorsement videos on his website. 1. There are tons of people around town that do not like Joe Hultquist and 2. Also, having Finbarr Saunders on there isn't smart when he is in a partisaned position on County Commission, when Marlino is running for a "non-partisaned" position with the City. Some Republicans might have went to his website to check him out and saw Finbarr on there and said I am not voting for him because of that, just so you know people do do that.

What did intrigue me, was his ability to befriend people on the campaign. Despite getting whooped by the second largest margin of all the city council races, he still did garner 3100 votes with no name recognition whatsoever. I think a lot of these votes were people who solely voted based on the News Sentinel endorsement, but I think a lot of people voted for him because he is a very personable guy.

All in all, I am not sure whether or not I would support him. Like Knoxcatlady, I would obviously have to see my options before I committed, but I would not absolutely rule it out, especially if he was running against someone from Sequoyah Hills or West Hills.