Ethics Committee to get new member

I joke that the panel is nothing more than a paper tiger, but you probably don't want to get called before the county's ethics committee. That never looks good.

Anyhoo, the Knox County Commission is accepting resumes from candidates seeking an appointment to the board.

They're due by Oct. 17.

Send them to:

Office of the Knox County Commission
Suite 603, City County Building
400 Main St.
Knoxville, TN 37902

Fax: 865-215-2038

Email: commission@knoxcounty.org

The commission will hold public hearing to interview the candidates (hint: Show up if you're actually interested) at 4 p.,m. Oct. 20 in the Main Assembly Room of the Death Star.

The following week, commissioners will vote on the appointment.

Just the facts ma'am: Was bogus BOE 'ethics violation' a political ploy?

Hoo-Haw, man they got some funny stuff going on over there on the school system’s side of county government. Heh.

So, get this: The Knox County Board of Education was set to meet on March 5 to talk about “allegations of a potential ethics violation and consideration of possible action and recommendations.”

The supposed violator? BOE member Mike McMillan.

The reason? For being transparent.

Hahahahahaha. Naw, I’m not kidding.

McMillian forwarded a PUBLIC RECORD to a newspaper reporter and a state representative.

Yet, South Knoxville parent Kristi Kristy (and by default BOE member and BOE Ethics Chairwoman Indya Kincannon) wanted to conduct kangaroo court.

However, on Friday the school system sent over a public notice that said the committee meeting “has been canceled due to the withdrawal of the complaint.”

Well wait a minute!

According to the News Sentinel, Kristi Kristy “decided not to file an official complaint.” (KNS story right here if you have money for a paywall.)

Huh? So was a complaint filed or not? And if one wasn’t filed, then why would Kincannon schedule the meeting?  That doesn’t make sense. Right?

Surely this wasn’t a political move against McMillan, the one BOE member who has not fallen in line with the rest of the board?  

Naw. No way!

Heh. Right. This whole thing stinks. The ethics committee isn’t supposed to even bother with these matters unless the chair receives a complaint that is “in writing and SIGNED UNDER OATH by the person making the complaint . . . .”

You can find the BOE’s Code of Ethics right smack here. 

However, the committee was going to go ahead and discuss it anyway. Without a sworn statement!

OK, so enough rambling. Let’s get to what was in that PUBLIC RECORD and what McMillan did and didn’t do.

Without further ado, it’s time for some Porch factoids:

FACT: On Dec. 6 at 3:11 p.m. Kristi Kristy sent District 9 BOE member Pam Trainor an email asking that it be sent to the Board and Superintendent Jim McIntyre. In the email, Kristy touted the good superintendent’s awesomeness and was upset that someone depicted him as Adolf Hitler in a now-viral YouTube video in which “McIntyre” raged about teacher concerns and expressed dismay that he might have to go back to teaching himself. You can find the video right here by the way.

FACT: Kristy wanted Trainor to redact her name from the email because she was concerned that teachers would like go over to her house and/or harass her, or some such nonsense.

FACT: At this point said email was NOT a public record (according to the county law department).

FACT: It BECAME a public record once Trainor forwarded it on – as requested by Kristy – to the school board members and once they received it.

FACT: Pam Trainor did NOT redact Kristy’s name.

FACT: Shopper reporter Betty Bean and State Rep. Gloria Johnson asked McMillian for a copy of that PUBLIC RECORD later in the day and he honored their OPEN RECORDS REQUEST.

FACT: This whole thing is silly. If Kristy wants to be mad at someone, she should be mad at Trainor for not taking her name off the email.

FACT: These facts come from PUBLIC RECORDS. And NO, I didn’t get them from McMillan. Heh.

So, click right smack here for a set of documents that includes an email from Kincannon to Kristy that says the ethics committee will hold a hearing despite the fact that there was no signed-under-oath complaint; and two different emails from Kristy to BOE member Lynne Fugate – one that basically blames McMillan for all the world’s problems, and another that, just. . .  wow.

Further, for another set of bad boys, click right smack here for the original email that caused this whole mess AND a Jan. 10 letter from Knox County Law Director Richard “Bud” Armstrong telling Kristy that she doesn’t have a case! (Hey, I had to get the factoids from somewhere.)

Now, if the BOE really wants to look into a violation, then the board should address a potential solicitation violation committed by a certain political candidate it happens to support.

Jones, Knight raised a TON of coin

Well, the Man with the Badge turned in his campaign financial disclosure forms today and he might need a new nickname: Sheriff Money Bags!

Jimmy “J.J.” Jones has apparently raised some $169,400 in his bid for re-election. He faces Robert “Bobby” Waggoner and Charles “Sam” Hammett Jr. in the May Republican primary.

Democrat Tracy “T.A.” Clough also has taken out a nominating petition to run for the seat but hasn’t turned it in. So, too, has Donald Wiser, an Independent. But, Wiser also took out a nominating petition to run for the Register of Deeds seat, so I wouldn’t take that one too seriously. Heh.

The general election, which – come on, let’s face it, it’s really over after the Republican primary – will be held in August.

The disclosure forms are due Friday, but, technically, they can be late or pretty much filed whenever you like, because it’s not like the state Ethics Committee, which is supposed to punish such ne’er-do-wells, actually has any guts.

Heh.

Additionally, I’m also hearing that Charme Knight, a Republican and the only candidate so far to run for the open District Attorney General seat, has raised about $120,000 in folding paper.

Now, you’re not going to find any of this on the election site right now, because the office is closed. So, check back tomorrow.

In the meantime, it appears that Jones isn’t done raising money. He also has plans to host a meet-and-greet/minor fundraiser/pizza party on April 15 at the Expo Center. The event is designed to boost his election base.

Note that April 16 is the first day of early voting.

As always, send me your campaign stuff and I’ll post it.

Five so far applied for ethics spots

Five folks so far have applied for the three open positions on the Knox County Ethics Committee.

Resumes are due by noon Oct. 18, so expect some more to send in their stuff. The commission will hold a public hearing to interview the candidates on Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the Death Star.

They'll make a final decision on Oct. 28.

In the meantime, click right smack here for cover letters and resumes of the latest batch.

We've got a UT Federal Credit Union president/CEO, a local high school math and physics teacher, a Pellissippi State religious studies teacher and self-proclaimed "old fashioned liberal," a trust officer with First Tennessee Bank and an "experienced property manager." 

Ethics panel to fill 3 openings

The Knox County commission is accepting resumes from candidates seeking appointment to the Knox County Ethics Committee. There are three spots open. Each is for a four-year term, beginning Nov. 1 and ending Oct. 17, 2017.

Submit resumes by noon Oct. 18. You can mail 'em, fax 'em, email 'em or hand deliver those bad boys to:

Office of the Knox County Commission
Suite 603, Death Star
400 Main St.
Knoxville, TN 37902

The fax number is 215-2038 and the email is commission@knoxcounty.org

The commission will hold a public hearing to interview the candidates on Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the Death Star.

They'll make a final decision on Oct. 28.

Here's a hint: If you don't show up for the interview, you won't get the gig.

Also note: The commission office sent out a note earlier, saying that the panel had two open spots, but earlier today - after it was issued - a member announced that she was moving and would have to step down.

Ethics ad hoc panel makes progress

Wrote a story today, talking about a County Commission ad hoc panel charged with looking into the makeup of the ethics committee. Right smack here for that bad boy.

Anyhoo, the four-member panel met today. Initially, members talked about using non-partisan civic groups to appoint members to the committee. The idea was to take out the politics, or potential for a conflict of interest.

All this was because the committee reappointed two of its own and appeared to give little consideration for the other 23 who applied.

The ad hoc committee today, though, agreed that the “easiest approach was to tweak what we have.”

Members said they'd recommend to the full Knox County Commission that the committee consist of only residents – no elected officials, former elected officials or county employees. They also want the commission to appoint three members, the mayor to pick three members, the committee to pick two members and the sheriff to pick one member.

The members would be term-limited to one, four-year term, but could be reappointed if they sit out a term. The seats also will be staggered.

The committee will meet again 1 p.m. on March 18.

Panel meets to discuss ethics makeup

A small committee comprised of Knox County commissioners and Ethics Committee members met earlier today to kick around a couple ideas about the future makeup of the Ethics Committee and just how its members get selected.

Right now, it looks like they're leaning toward recommending (to the county commission) that the committee be comprised of non-commissioners and that local, non-partisan civic groups appoint the members.

The four-member subcommittee got the idea from Nashville-Davidson's ethics committee. Apparently over there, the local league of women voters organization, a couple of attorney bar associations, a trade and labor council and some other group that no one could remember appoints the membership.

But, could that cause a problem? Who picks the civic groups that cast the final picks?

Yeah. Big Circle.

Anyhoo, at this point, it's just discussion. The members, though, did agree to narrow down some official recommendations by next month, so they can actually vote.

And at least one suggestion tossed out there is to set one-term term limits on the committee.

As you might recall, the committee upset some folks awhile back when it opted to re-appoint a few members in what appeared to be a rigged contest. At least that's what some folks said. Whatever. It certainly didn't look good.

The thought is that if the panel has a one term limit – whether it's one year or four years – members won't reappoint themselves.

In addition, some on the subcommittee felt that it would be worth keeping some commissioners on the panel, if only for their institutional knowledge but that they would hold non-voting positions.

Currently, The committee is comprised of nine members, including one county commissioner appointed by the commission, a Knox County Sheriff's Office representative appointed by the sheriff and seven residents — three selected by the commission, two by the county mayor and two by the Ethics Committee. Members serve for three years.

The committee investigates ethics complaints regarding county business and employees. State lawmakers required counties to create such a group in the wake of Tennessee Waltz scandal.

If it finds something amiss, it can refer the issue to the district attorney general for a further probe or to the county law director for a legal opinion or recommendation.

The panel will meet again next month to talk more.

Ethics panel reappoints officers

Knox County's Ethics Committee met this morning, mostly to elect new officers. Not a whole lot here, other than one small note of (sort of) humor.

This isn't exactly a talkative group, so when the panel sought nominations from its members there were quite a few bumps on the ol' logs up there on the dais. Finally Richard Bell nominated Elaine Davis for reappointment to the chair seat. That quickly passed 6-0.

Davis then asked about the vice chair seat. She was met with chirping crickets. Finally, she nominated Karen Smith to serve. Smith, by the way, was not at the meeting. (This is starting to be a running theme.) No other nominations. That, too, passed 6-0.

Finally, Davis nominated – since everyone else forgot how to talk – Richard Bell for reappointment for the secretary spot. Yup. Passed. 6-0.

Knox County Commissioner Richard Briggs, Karen Smith a Raj Patel were absent from the meeting.

I'll have more on the Ethics Committee in tomorrow's paper. Good stuff, folks, good stuff

Commission adds one to ethics panel

In what I'd say was a pretty classy move (I suppose some folks would say it was a political move, but whatever), Knox County Commissioner Brad Anders suggested that the board nominate all six or seven (I lost count there) of the applicants who showed up last week to interview for the final spot on the county's Ethics Committee.

Then Knox County Chairman Tony Norman pointed out that “someone in the audience” can also submit a nomination.

All this, obviously, was in far contrast to the Oct. 10 Ethics Committee meeting in which the panel reappointed two of its members and – according to commissioners and some folks – gave little consideration to the other 23 applicants.

In the end, Ken Gross – click right smack here for his credentials – got the gig. It's a partial term that expires next Halloween. (Seriously.)

According to his resume, Gross has some governmental experience. In August, Gov. Big Bill Haslam picked him to serve a three-year term as the East Tennessee Commissioner on the State of Tennessee Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission in Nashville (talk about a mouthful of a title).

He's also done some other stuff. Again, just click here.

Now, with that said, all this could be moot anyway. The commission today also agreed that during next month's work session it will probably appoint a subcommittee to look into overhauling the 9-member panel.

I wrote about it the other day.

Stay tuned. 

I suppose.

Applicant skewers Ethics Committee

Looks like six folks (unless I miscounted) interviewed with the Knox County Commission for the open seat on the the county's Ethics Committee today. Another 14 didn't show up.

One person, Diane Jablonski, skewered the committee.

She said she was withdrawing her application yet appeared before the commission because she “felt this was the only way that would be able to publicly air my disgust with the fiasco perpetrated on the public by the so-called Ethics Committee.”

She noted that the board “operated within their own rules,” but there is “something un-ethical about a committee, who deals with the public trust, appointing themselves to full terms of office.”

Let me interject here. Last week the board gave 20 or so applicants each two minutes to say why they should be picked for he two open spots. Two of those applicants were board members whose terms were expiring. The board nominated the two members and then promptly reappointed them. This hasn't gone over well with some folks. Today's selection is to fill a partial term. The commission – not the committee – is to make this appointment.

OK, back to Jablonski:

“(What) happened was a sham, a farce and a fraud perpetrated on the citizens who had applied,” she said. “This self-appointed Ethics Committee, in my opinion, did a great disservice to Knox County and to the citizens who had appeared before them, in good faith, believing that they would be given fair consideration. What happened has unfortunately become the norm in Knox County where ethics is paper thin.”

She noted that educators, attorneys, mediators and “many of whom had served on ethics committees within their own professions applied.

Anyhoo, enough of that. Got more meetings to cover. I should note that no one, including Jablonski, has complained to me about the actual selections that were made, but rather the process.

Ethics applicants get second shot

Well, well, we got us a little debate going on over at the hippie's site. Apparently, an applicant for the county's ethics committee isn't happy with the selection. Yesterday, I blogged about some other upset folks.

Anyhoo, what's done is done. The membership has been set. On Monday, though, the Knox County Commission will fill the third and final open slot. This is a partial term for someone who has moved (I think).

I should note that there has been some confusion. The ethics committee had two slots to fill on its panel. A lot of folks, including myself, were under the impression that the board just had that one. Well, no. The one spot is a commission appointment.

So, now that we have all that covered, I was messing around on the county's website this morning and found the resumes to the ethics committee applicants. I think it's pretty much the same folks who went before the ethics people yesterday. Means they get a second shot.

Here they are, right smack here.

Some applicants question ethics panel

The county's ethics committee met this morning to go ahead and rubber stamp the reappointment of two sitting members.

And this hasn't gone over too well with a couple of folks.

You see, 25 people applied for the two open spots (five didn't bother showing up to today's meeting) and, quite frankly, it appeared that no one – other than the committee members – really had a shot.

I'm not saying that's the case, but, you know . . . appearances and all that.

One person called it “a farce” and another person said “the whole thing was disgusting.” A third walked out of the room, mumbling that “it was a monumental waste of time.”

And several have now dubbed it the “unethical committee.” (Yes, I know. Not real original.)

Soooooo . . . . what happened?

Glad you asked.

The committee has three open spots – two that it gets to fill and one that the Knox County Commission has to fill in the upcoming weeks.

The 20 people – including board chairwoman Elaine Davis and board member Mae Killebrew-Mosley – each were given two minutes to state why they should get the pick. (Board members said they reviewed the applications/resumes before the meeting.)

During the first round of nominations, the board picked Davis and Killebrew-Mosley. Now keep in mind that only the board – no one from the public – can make nominations.

Davis in a 5-1 vote was picked. And yes, she voted for herself. (Killebrew-Mosley also voted for herself.)

In the second round only Killebrew-Mosely received a nomination.

As one person told me: “They didn't even make it look good.” Heh.

Just before the meeting closed, Davis said: “I'm incredibly amazed and appreciative of the number of people and the quality of people who have shown up today.” She suggested that the committee increase its size. (They've been talking about making like this for almost two years.)

In the meantime, officials said they'd turn the remaining applications (and there are some good ones in the batch by the way) over to the county commission to look through. The person who had the post that's set to expire is not applying for it.

Ethics board set to add new member

The county's great paper tiger, sometimes referred to as the Ethics Committee, meets tomorrow morning, and there's not a whole lot on the board's plate.

(Are you telling me everyone has been acting all ethical these past few months?)

Anyhoo, here's the agenda, right smack here.

It appears that the only thing the committee has to do is pick a new member. Twenty-five people applied for the gig, although one, who is currently embroiled in a little brouhaha with the county, pulled out.

(I'm guessing the person who is already a board member gets reappointed.)

If I'm not mistaken, the person picked will fill the partial term that end on Halloween 2013.

The nine-member ethics board is charged with investigating complaints regarding county business and county employees.

Ethics Committee needs new member

The Knox County Commission will accept applications to join the county's top paper tiger, also sometimes known as the county's ethics committee, to fill a partial term that ends on Halloween 2013. (No, I'm not kidding.)

Soooo, if you're interested in joining the nine-member committee, which is charged with investigating ethics complaints regarding county business and county employees (although nothing really comes of it), then send your resume (by noon Oct. 15) to:

Office of the Knox County Commission

Suite 603 City County Building

400 Main St.

Knoxville, TN 37902

You can also fax that bad boy to 215-2038 or email it to commission@knoxcounty.org

The commissioner will interview the candidates at 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 in the Main Assembly Room of the Deathstar.

Seriously, show up if you want the gig. I don't know how many knuckleheads apply for these things and then don't bother to come.

Ethics Committee sub-panel to disband?

You know how local officials like to appoint sub-committees and then you never hear back from them? Yeah, started thinking about that the other day.

Anyhoo, the Ethics Committee meets tomorrow. (There's not a whole lot going on.) But chairwoman Elaine Davis said she might ask for an update from a sub-panel or committee or whatever that the board put together a long time back to look into possible changes to its makeup. (Long sentence, I know.)

You see, Knox County Commissioner Richard Briggs wanted to the committee to consist solely of county residents to avoid conflicts of interest among elected leaders. He also wanted to more clearly define just what the panel is supposed to preside over. And, he wanted the group to serve as a tool for elected officials who want to implement something but want to make sure it's not unethical first - for example, creating an unofficial office account or taking a trip paid for by the private sector.

Right now, the nine-member committee, which includes one commissioner and a Knox County Sheriff's Office representative, investigates ethics complaints regarding county business and employees. If it finds something amiss, it can refer the issue to the district attorney general for a further probe or to the county law director for a legal opinion or recommendation.

To make a long story short, I wrote a story in December 2010 about this issue – find it by clicking right smack here.

The committee formed a committee to look into these suggestions, blah, blah, blah and I don't think it ever met.

And now it looks like the board will disband it.

“We had too many other things going on,” Briggs told me the other day. “With the change in government about a year and a half ago (when the commission dropped from 19 to 11 members and a new county mayor took office), I don't think there has been a single incident that's come up.”

Briggs said he'd still like to see an all-resident board, but he'll hold off at this point, since there hasn't been too many referrals to the committee.

(All that's coming to my mind was that mess about whether a developer got some inside info on the Midway Business Park land, and he didn't bother showing up to the inquiry, which was kind of funny. In a way. But I digress.)

Speaking of which, what ever happened to that committee that was supposed to look into other ways to use the Midway land?

Teachers can still get gifts here. I think.

I was talking to Elaine Davis, the chair of the county's ethics committee, this morning, just checking to see if the board's got anything going on for Wednesday's meeting.

They don't.

Anyhoo, she said she was visiting some folks in Alabama over the holidays and was reading a local paper that talked about state problems about teachers accepting gifts. Apparently, the governor over there in that godforsaken state (yeah – I said it and I don't really care what you think about me saying it) had to come up with a plan, so that teachers could accept gifts and it wouldn't be an ethics violation.

Not sure what article Davis saw, but a Google search popped up this one from the Montgomery Advertiser – click right smack here for it.

Yeah, Alabama. Yee-freakin'-haw. I like your football team. I hope you crush LSU tonight in the Big Game. But your state makes no sense.

By the way, Elaine says she doesn't think it's an ethics violation in Tennessee for teachers to accept gifts, particularly in Knox County.

Because, you know, we don't pay them anything, anyway.

Ethics interviews, two don't show up

OK, so five folks applied to the one open position on the ethics committee that the county commission gets to pick. (The commission also has to appoint one of its own and the mayor gets to pick someone.)

I initially posted about the applicants right smack here (resumes included).

Soooo, today, the commission interviewed the candidates today. Or three of them, anyway. Because two didn't bother to show up. (I don't get it. Seriously.)

Anyhoo, the final vote is Nov. 21. It’s pretty apparent who some commissioners were leaning toward. Hell, one commissioner practically coached a candidate – or rather, told that person the answer they wanted to hear.

The two candidates who didn’t show? Ashlee Brown and Chad Fontanarosa. Nice.

Here’s a few notes I jotted down from the ones who did manage to make it for a roughly three minute interview.

Cindy Clabough: Said the position “seemed a perfect fit,” and that she has “a passion for the fair and ethical treatment of all people.” Clabough said she could make the board “a more viable, reliable and more productive branch of our government.” She has no connections to county employees and is currently retired. “I want to serve my government – I never have before – and this is a small way to give back.” Commissioner R. Larry Smith asked where she was from. She said Knox County. When asked where she went to school, she said West High School. Smith: “Atta girl.”

Steve Drevik: Said he works with 80 different state agencies and they all have “ethics rules that I've had to navigate.” Said he would bring a “very pragmatic approach” to the committee. Said he has a brother-in-law who works in the county property assessor’s office “but we don’t have that much contact.” (All candidates were asked whether they had relatives who work for the county.) He also said he heard someone in the media call the ethics board a “paper tiger” (that was me – heh) but he disagrees. Uh, yeah, whatever.

Chuck Williams: Said he “dedicated the last few years of my life doing what I can for the city and county, no matter what the situation.” Said he feels that there is a “night and day” difference to how the ethics committee and county commission are now run. He has no ties to county employees. He told commissioners that they know his “integrity level.” He added: “I’m not going to be swayed or cut deals with anyone – I’m going to follow the letter of the law.”

I’ve got a feeling that whoever the commission picks, it won’t be by a unanimous decision. (Unless – at the end – the board does one of those symbolic things where everyone has a big love fest after going back and forth and picks one person. If what I just said makes sense.)

Mayor picks Patel for ethics committee

Last week I posted about the pending shakeup in the county's Ethics Committee. At the time, I didn't have the resume for county Mayor Tim Burchett's pick.

Here it is right smack here.

Anyhoo, the mayor has nominated Raj Patel, the current director of rehab for Summit View Health Services. Patel also owns the Quality Inn & Suites Waterpark Hotel off Cedar Bluff Road; the Falls Conference Center & Banquet Hall on Cedar Bluff Road; and the Creekside Inn on Lovell Road.

He earned a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He also earned a degree in biology from UT in Knoxville.

The commission later this month will probably sign off on him.

“I think he's gong to be an excellent choice – he's a family man and very active in the A.L. Lotts school community; and he's a small business person who comes with very good recommendations,” the mayor said.

New members set to join ethics panel

OK, looks like the Knox County Ethics Committee is about to get three new members. County Mayor Tim Burchett has picked Raj Patel to serve as a “citizen member” and the commission is set to reappoint Commissioner Richard “The Good Doctor” Briggs.

(I'm waiting to hear back on the mayor's pick.)

In addition, the commission will pick its own “citizen member.” The board hold interviews on Monday at the local Deathstar. No, you can't apply. It's too late.

Five others beat you to it.

Here are their resumes.

We've got Ashlee Brown, a customer service representative at First Tennessee Bank; Cindy Russell Clabough, who worked in the sheet metal industry and did some volunteer work for the American Red Cross Knoxville Area Chapter; Steve Drevik (ran for County Commission in 2008 and the president of Agilaire); Chad Fontanarosa, a manager at Universal Hospital Services; and Chuck “Serving the Community” Williams, who served in the U.S. Navy, worked for the U.S. Postal Services and – if I'm not mistaken – ran for a state senate seat last year.

There ya go.

Probably doesn't matter who serves. The board is pretty much a paper tiger, anyway.

County taking Ethics Committee resumes

Whatever happened to the proposal to shake up the county's ethics committee, anyway?

Sorry, rhetorical question. Probably got shelved while the county commission formed a sub-committee to look into the committee.

Or something.

Anyhoo, The Knox County Board of Commissioners is accepting resumes from those seeking an appointment to the ethics committee. The application deadline is Nov. 1.

You can email, fax, mail, hand deliver or use a passenger pigeon for all they care, but send it to:

Office of the Knox County Commission
Suite 603, Deathstar
400 Main Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37902
(Phone: 215-2534)
(Fax: 215-2038)
(Email: commission@knoxcounty.org)

The commission will make a decision Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Deathstar's Main Assembly Room.

If you apply, you might want to show up. You know, just in case commissioners want to ask questions. Seriously, you wouldn't believe the number of people who apply for these things, then don't bother to come. (And no, they don't get appointed.)