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Best in Politics for January 28, 2008
Best in Politics 07 Winners: Political Saga
2007 Best Political Saga
KNS Sues County Commission
The “best” political saga of 2007 actually officially started on March 29, 2006. That’s the day the TN Supreme Court ruled that some elected officials in Shelby County weren’t eligible to run again and should be kicked off the ballot because of term limits adopted by voters. Even though it was a decision drawn from the other end of the state, 12 County Commissioners, Register of Deeds, Trustee, and Sheriff in Knox County knew the decision spelled doomed.
By the next day, there was a political firestorm. The Knox County Election Commission voted to reopen filing deadlines to allow people to run for the spots that incumbent Commissioners could no longer fill in an election that was supposed to be just a month away. Things cooled off for a while, until the litigation over the issue finally reached the State Supreme Court in September, when the Supremes confirmed the ruling applied to everyone and charged the Knox County Commission with appointing replacements for the ousted term-limited incumbents.
In January, TPB reported that the County Commission was still debating how to conduct the appointments, including a mention of public meetings in order to determine the replacements. County Mayor Mike Ragsdale stepped in, proposed that the Commission appoint replacements following public forums in each of the affected Commission districts.
But Commission Chair Scott Moore wasn’t having any of it. Moore and Commissioner “Lumpy” Lambert told the press that it was the Knox County Commission’s duty to determine the appointment process, not the County Mayor’s prerogative. Finally the Commission decided to hold a special session on January 31 to appoint replacements without public input. County Commission Chair Scott Moore phrased it this way: “I know the times are tough...We're getting a lot of calls. But that's the process”
By there were already rumblings of backroom deals driving candidates away from even running. One commentator noted at the time, “The sudden vacancies in a dozen county offices provide an opportunity to bring in some good people...but (would-be candidates) believe it's a done deal." A comment couldn’t have been more prophetic. As the vote on January 31 showed, the die had already been cast – well before the official Commission meeting. Knox Countians woke up on February 1 shocked – their faith in government shaken. That same day, lawyer Herb Moncier filed a lawsuit to invalidate the appointments on the grounds they violated that State’s Open Meeting Laws.
Shortly thereafter, the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Scripps-based daily serving Knox County joined the lawsuit in a move to invalidate the appointment process. Offering to settle their lawsuit if only the Knox County Commission would agrees to redo the appointment process this time with public input, the new Commission voted the idea down. By then the resolve of the Commission had hardened and the lawsuit was set for trial.
It took until August 2007 for the trial to get going before Chancellor Daryl Fansler’s court, with sparks flying in late September testimony by Commission Chair Scott Moore. Moore claimed not to have known that his former campaign treasurer Chuck Bolus would be sworn into to the Commission seat they had appointed him to early to vote the Moore’s way on another appointment that was deadlocked. Even as Moore held to his story, other Commissioners confirmed they had had private deliberations about the appointment process – in violation of the State’s Open Meetings Laws.
Then on October 2, the citizens of the jury ruled that their own County government had violated the State’s Open Meeting Laws by negotiating backroom deals for appointments to the Commission and the other appointed seats. Chancellor Fansler ruled that the process was tainted and ordered it thrown out.
With the new faction on the Commission now removed, the Commission wisely opted to delay another appointment process until after this year’s primary elections – when it learned that the Commission could not authorize a special election. Instead, the Commission’s subversive action has left a lasting mark on Knox Co. politics – building interest in running for local office to historic levels – and participation among voters to projected all time highs.
That just goes to show you the Aegean Stables of last year’s most notorious political saga can be cleaned by the will of the electorate – if only we allow it. More importantly it shows public officials’ attempts to stifle public oversight through the recent move to weaken the State’s Open Meeting laws (the very laws which made the cleansing possible) are instructive.
