Looking into the recent claims made by Knox County clerk candidates

Padgett

If you're going to spit out a bunch of BS, the smartest move isn't to then challenge a reporter to fact check it.

Anyhoo, Knox County Clerk candidate Mike Padgett issued 10News a challenge: Investigate the claims he and his opponent, incumbent Clerk Foster Arnett Jr, made during a recent edition of Inside Tennessee.

“We need to go to the finance department and find out those figures with the investigative reporter and find out how many millions of dollars Foster has turned over, and how many millions of dollars our administration turned over,” Padgett, who served as the clerk from 1986 to 2007, said during the June 1 program.

Well, we over here at WBIR did just that.

Padgett, though, might not be too happy about what we found.

Here’s a look:

1) STATEMENT: Padgett said that “we turned over millions of dollars . . . every year in fees to the county government.” Arnett said that his administration “turned over $6 million in the six years that I’ve been in office.”

BACKGROUND: The county clerk’s office collects various fees. The money first goes to paying the staff and covering a reserve tank that will keep the office running for three months. The rest is turned over to the county’s general fund. WBIR reviewed recent financial statements and the past 11 comprehensive annual financial reports that an external auditor puts together for the county each year.

Arnett

FINDING: Arnett’s claims were accurate, according to financial records. Padgett’s were not. From fiscal years 2009 to 2012, Arnett turned over a combined $5 million. His office has already turned in $1 million for the current fiscal year, which wraps up at the end of this month. From fiscal years 2002 to 2008, Padgett’s administration turned over a combined $3 million. His office didn’t turn over any money during fiscal years 2002-04.

2) STATEMENT: Padgett said his office printed “every (car) title in the state of Tennessee” and that the state “would send it to us. Nashville would send it to us,” referring to contract work that would allow the county to print the titles. He said Arnett “lost” the contracts. Padgett said if he was elected he would “go to Nashville and I will receive contracts from the state of Tennessee to make that a recurrence.” Arnett disagreed, and said that “things have changed since my opponent has been in office” and that the state has “changed the way the titles are done in all 95 counties.”

BACKGROUND: The county did not print titles for “every” county in the state. At one time, it printed titles for at least 10 East Tennessee counties, according to records. However, about the time Arnett took office, the state gave counties the go-ahead to print their own titles, something most counties wanted to do anyway because every title printed equals an extra $3 in fees for the county that prints it. State officials say Padgett could not just go to Nashville and sign contracts to get this work. Further, they said, at this point no county prints titles for any other county. They all print their own.

FINDING: Padgett could not carry out his proposal.

3) STATEMENT: Padgett took issue with the county using Business Information Systems, or BIS, as its third-party provider to help the office submit information to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. He said “Foster is using that service. There are other providers around Tennessee. The state has no direct influence on what the county does. They would love to have help in the state of Tennessee for counties that don’t have providers.”

FINDING: If Padgett won, he would more than likely be stuck with BIS. According to the Department of Revenue, that company provides services to 92 of the state’s 95 counties. Shelby County uses its own in-house IT shop, and Stewart County “processes only limited manual transaction.” Sevier County uses eGovernment Solutions as a third party provider. However, that company is run by Padgett’s son, Mark, which would more than likely create a conflict of interest if he brought the business onboard.

Padgett, a Democrat, and Arnett, a Republican who is in his first full term, will face off in August’s general election. The winner will take over on Sept. 2.

Arnett Jr. sets re-election kickoff

Foster Arnett Jr.

Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr. will hold his re-election kickoff and first fundraiser on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The event, which is open to the public, will be held at the home of John Trotter, located at 3106 Kingston Pike. The house used to be the Dulin Art Gallery but has since been completely restored.

Arnett said he’s asking for $100 donations per person, but they are not required.

The clerk’s office is responsible for keeping the officials minutes and records of the Knox County Commission and its standing committees. It’s also the place where you go if you want to renew your car tag, get a drivers’ license renewed, pick up a passport or marriage license, etc. In other words, the office oversees a lot of stuff.

Foster, a Republican, so far has no competition in the May primary. The general election will be held in August. Former clerk, Mike Padgett, is running as a Democrat.

Padgett expected to run for clerk

Word going around is that Knox County Clerk Foster Arnett Jr., a Republican, will have some competition in August's general election. (He's not expected face an opponent - or one of any merit, anyway - in the May primary.)

Mike Padgett, a Democrat, who was term-limited out of the clerk's office in 2007, has picked up - or plans to up - a nominating petition for the seat. And yes, before you ask, he can run again. Term limits apply to the amount of terms in a row someone can serve, rather than the overall number of terms.

The last time Padgett, as I recall, was really involved in politics was a failed bid in the Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate in 2008.  His son, Mark, lost the city mayoral bid a couple years ago to Madeline Rogero in a non-partisan race.