Belle Morris done? Frith leaving

Couple of notes from today's election commission meeting.

Last year some folks got upset after the election commission in a 4-0 vote agreed to close the precinct at Belle Morris Elementary School and move voters to the nearby Larry Cox Senior Center.

At the time, elections administrator Clifford Rodgers said the center was easier for people with disabilities to use and that it had more parking.

Many Democrats disagreed and some said the move smacked of partisan politics, since it was the largest Democratic precinct inside the city. A lot of huffing and puffing followed and folks ignored the fact that one Democrat on the election commission actually voted to close the precinct and the other one didn't bother to show up at the meeting.

Eventually, everyone agreed that they might talk more about it early this year.

Well, no one – Democrat or Republican – brought it up this morning.

So, guess it was all a bunch of nothing, unless someone shows up at one of these meetings to complain.

After the meeting Rodgers said his office “did not get one call from any disgruntled voters about” the move after the August primary.

“(Larry Cox) is one of the finest voting facilities in Knox County and it has plenty of parking,” he said. “Also, I don't like voting in schools if we have something else nearby.”

Other item of note:

Rodgers announced that Scott Frith, the county's assistant administrator of elections, has resigned, effective May 17, the day before he graduates law school. Rodgers called Frith an “invaluable part of my team . . . and a trusted adviser and friend.” Rodgers said he would begin taking applications for the position soon.

It pays $65,000 a year, so expect a bunch of knuckleheads to turn out, thinking they got a shot at some easy money.

Voting tips for tomorrow's election

Case you've been under a rock, or if you're just brain dead, there's an election tomorrow. Sooo, it's that time again as I contact the county's main main in the election commission, Cliff Rodgers. Or rather, he contacts the media through one of his many spin releases.

The guy is on a roll, folks. Anyhoo, Rodgers has some election tips for those who missed early voting and do plan to hit the ballot box tomorrow.

“On election day, you're required to vote in the precinct where you live,” he said. “Our early locations are closed on election day. Don't show up and try to vote at Downtown West!”

Heh. Good stuff. Oh yeah, by the way, the polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you're not really sure about your polling place, then click right smack here where you will find the link “Where do I vote.” Enter your name, address, etc. to find your location.

Don't forget your ID. Cause, you know, the new rule is there to prevent you from voting. Heh. Also, vote early and often. (Cliff really didn't say that. His right and man, Scott Frith, did. Kidding, of course. Not really. Maybe. You'll never know.)

Do expect moderate to heavy lines, especially in the morning and evening. If you're in line at8  p.m., you can still vote, but come on, don't be THAT person.

The election commission won't release any results until everyone in line has vote, so that might not be until after 9 p.m. Seriously, don't call. Just go to the website and hit refresh every few seconds.

Rodgers said he expects about 50,000 to 70,000 voters tomorrow, so be patients with the folks at the ballots and if you have any questions or problems, then call. (Look up the number on your own – I'm not the white pages.)

Follow election results on your phone

The Knox County Election Commission won't provide phone apps this year to catch the unofficial results as they come in Tuesday night, but they will make it somewhat easy if you want to use your phone to watch the show.

I can't remember why they won't use apps. Second-in-command Scott Frith explained it to me but I really wasn't listening. Something about a screw-up or confusion last time they used them. Can't recall. I might be wrong. Whatever.

Anyhoo, if you have a phone or pad produced by Apple (I refuse to acknowledge such inferior devices by their names), a kick-ass Droid or a lame Blackberry, then log on to knoxcounty.org/election or by clicking right smack here, and then find the link to whatever device you're going to use.

It will look a lot nicer if you do, since the results will be formatted for the specific mobile device and show the results customized for it.

For those of you still living in the early 2000s who don't have a real cell phone – and you do have a computer with Internet connection – you can also go to the Web site and just watch the scores scroll down the screen.

Also, according to a news release, After all precincts have reported, the Election Commission will also provide an online “Election Analysis Tool” after all the precincts have reported. This will provide unofficial election results sorted by precinct or candidate name. This analysis tool will be available at knoxcounty.org/election.

Minor election memo, big mess

(Just some mindless scribblings about today's story. You should probably read it – click right smack here – or you'll probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Actually, most of my stuff is just mental patient-like ramblings anyway.)

It's rarely the crime that gets you. It's the cover-up. (I really wish I had come up with that line.)

And this one, the one in the elections office, just burned a bunch of folks.

Hell, I'm thinking about taking the “Deathstar” tag away from the City County Building. Maybe it now belongs to the Old Courthouse. The Elections Office.

Naw, forget that. They get a name. But not “Deathstar.” No. We'll stick with the Star Wars theme. But now we'll call it the “Mos Eisley.”

Heh.

Anyhoo, there's a point to this. I just forgot. Oh Yeah. Interim administrator of elections Scott Frith destroyed a document. A document written by his former boss, Greg Mackay, that alleged a number of unkindly things. And I don't really care if there were hundreds of copies of that document floating around. He took the one, given to him - “him” meaning the custodian – and shredded it.

Now, he says, HR Director Frances Fogerson didn't really care what he did with since "that wasn't the only copy." She admits that, too. Cause, you know, there was another floating around. Whatever.

(Don't blame Fogerson for this one. She wasn't even supposed to have the document to begin with. It got dumped on her. Heck, she's one of the most honorable people in the Deathstar.)

Here's what Frith told me (this is a longer quote than what ran in the paper):

“I really wanted to know what would happen to it. Greg had been terminated and there had never been an investigation. I just wanted to know what was going to happen to it. I wasn't going to frame it and put it on my office wall. I was hoping it would all go away – this whole issue. I didn't want it down there forever.”

So where exactly was it going to go then? Oh yeah, the shredder. He isn't taking it home with him. He's not keeping it in his car. So what else was there? Come on. Seriously. This sucker was getting trashed the second he got his hands on it.

And the sad thing? I knew about the document. Hell, what did I care? The allegations – at least the ones in that piece of paper – were unfounded. Speculation. Second-hand, third-hand, whatever, observations. It could have been political payback. Whatever. It was a non-issue. There was no investigation. Just because someone jots some crap down on paper, doesn't mean it's worth anything. Heck, you're reading this. You read the paper, right? (Heh. Don't say I don't take a shot at myself from time to time.)

But, no. There's a ton of documents that allege a lot of stupid stuff out there. It's when you destroy them, though. That's what makes it a story.

But, whatever. That's not what I wanted to post here tonight anyway. I was actually going to empty my notebook, put up some of the stuff that didn't make the paper. Then I got to beating on Scott. And I like the guy. But what he did was stupid.

Whether you agree that the memo should have been written or not.

And here's the irony.

You want to know how I finally got the document? I got a copy from Scott. No kidding. Because, supposedly Election Commission Chairman Chris Heagerty had the other copy. But, apparently he gave it to someone in the elections office. (He can't remember who.) But then today he says Elections Commissioner Bob Bowman has a copy. He'll get it from him. Fax it over. I'm still waiting for it.

In the meantime, Firth has hit the panic-buttons. He needs a copy. He gets one from Bowman. Today. He emails it to me.

And just think: If he'd never destroyed it? If I – or anyone in the media – had asked for it? Well . . . .

Whatever.

More ramblings. More thoughts. More drivel.

A couple things just didn't seem to add up, both on and off the record stuff (although the off the record mess I'm keeping to myself). So, some stuff got left out of the story. The facts are there. I don't (knock on wood) think anyone disputes what was written.

But, maybe read between some lines.

You got two key players. Both are powder kegs. For all that buddy-buddy show, the back-patting, joke-telling, BS the two put on, they really didn't like each other. That's now apparent.

It will be even more apparent tomorrow (or today when you read this. If you read this.) when the election commission picks a new administrator. Because Greg won't get it (although that's because he's no longer in the running). Nor will Scott. No way he gets the job. It's going to local attorney Clifford Rodgers. (Sorry, Victoria DeFreese, but you were a token pick. They needed a third person. They could have picked Steve Hill, but then they'd have to look their pal in the face and tell him “No.” It's easier to tell you. No offense. You're a nice person. Whatever. Dance for me puppet.)

No, Rodgers gets the pick. And then we won't ever have to write about the election office until the next election. Or redistricting. Or until someone digs up some dirt on Rodgers. Or more on Frith. Actually, I seriously doubt anything comes out on Rodgers.

Here's something else that bothered me. The mayor's role or lack thereof. It was no secret what was going on at the Cantina. No secret I – and I'll give Anthony over at WBIR some props – was working on the story. But, someone “in the administration” tipped Frith about it.

That's life, though.

I do, however, find it odd that some folks in the administration apparently forget about the incident. Oh yeah. They knew about this. You see, Scott found out about the memo in February. He went to see Frances Fogerson. Then Chris Heagerty goes to see her.

And then all of a sudden, Mayor Tim Burchett wants her in his office. And – ta-daa- he has a copy of the freakin' memo in his hand. Oh yeah, apparently Dean Rice, the administration's chief of staff, is in the same room. With said memo.

Of course, that must have really been Heagerty's copy that he was waving around. Because he doesn't have it anymore. Maybe he gave it back to Heagerty who gave it back to the elections office or wherever. (And what's the point of the mayor talking to HR about this anyway. It's not his problem. Like he said. HR “doesn't police the elections commission.” But I digress.)

Yet, somehow, the two of them had to be reminded today that all this took place. They forgot. Funny.

One more thing. Commissioners Heagerty and Bowman have long known about this. That's not a big deal, really. What's interesting, though, is they did meet with Scott back in either late July or early August. Mackay was there, too.

They all talked about it. They said Scott was a single, 30-year-old dumb ass and should have known better. He agreed.

Or something like that. Then, Heagerty tells Frith that nothing will go into his file.

Apparently, no one sent Heagerty the memo. The memo that said Mackay already filed that bad boy in Fogerson's office.

Yeah, Heagerty found out about that – along with Frith and Burchett – back in February.

According to Fogerson, he “stormed out” of her office.

Like I said: A lot of people got burned on this one.

Over something stupid.

But, don't kid yourself. It goes on all the time.

I happened to be in the mood tonight to share it with you.

And it all started with someone wanting to destroy it.

Irony, I suppose.

Odds and ends from the meeting

I’ll have a story tomorrow in tomorrow’s paper about what the commissioners did regarding the fee office tug-of-war.

In the meantime, here’s a few things that won’t make it because of space.

Early on in the meeting, the administration rolled out some organization – the PFM Group, I believe – to talk about the county’s “benchmarking and debt analysis.”

Apparently, they were asked to provide “an independent assessment of debt profile, ways to save money and looking for specific risks in the financial profile.”

Uh, OK.

Despite having roughly $620 million in debt, we’re in pretty good shape, group members said.

Like I said: Uh, OK.

I’m actually still scratching my head on this one. I’d think the administration would rustle up someone who would talk about how bad off the county is. Because you know, the debt scares the hell out of county Mayor Tim Burchett and his right-hand-man Dean Rice.

But, they didn’t.

Of course, this could be one of those moves where officials wanted to brag about how all that refinancing they did back in September makes them look good. Former county Mayor Mike Ragsdale refinanced a bunch of debt, too, during his first year. (Course he also racked up a bunch.)

Still, with this news maybe they should have given Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones a couple extra cars if the future is so bright.

Anyhoo, some other notes:

Carter Elementary School: The evaluation committee that will determine which of the six bidders who wants a shot at trying to convince the county why they should get paid $13 million to $15 million instead of the PBA to build a new school on the county’s eastern side will meet Wednesday and Thursday. By early next week, officials will make the choice public and it will go before the IDB on May 10. Apparently, the bidding/request for proposals process so has cost the county about $4,600. I’ll try to figure out what it was spent on. I imagine it was advertising the bids.

NRRT: The county is going to auction off some 157 acres of Solway Greenwaste property. Remember, the county is cutting ties with Natural Resources Recovery of Tennessee on July 31. I wrote about that some time back. I’m not sure whether the land is any good. Commissioner Mike Brown said: “I wouldn’t consider it a building lot. I’m not sure I’d even want to raise my cattle on it.”

Fee Offices: During the meeting to discuss the fee office mess, local attorney John King (who isn’t cheap) spoke on behalf of Register of Deeds Sherry Witt. A lot – and I mean a lot – of folks were immediately asking me whether the county would pick up the tab. Apparently, they were asking Commission Chairman Mike Hammond the same thing. Because, he asked King. (So did I, but it was after the meeting). King said “I have a fee arrangement with her.” He also said county money won’t be used. Witt told me after the meeting that it will come from her own pocket. She also said she won’t use campaign money. I hope that puts that one to rest. But, there’s one other thing. I wasn’t in the back of the room when this happened (I usually sit up front), but Brian Hornback caught an interesting tidbit involving some of the fee officers who oppose the commission’s plan to take control of their budgets. (You can read about it right here.)

Senate seat: The county commission will begin taking applications soon to fill Jamie Woodson’s state senate seat. It should be up on the Deathstar’s web site maybe as early as tomorrow, which is good considering it hasn't updated its spin in over two weeks. I’ll post more when I know.

Scott Frith: I’ve asked the interim election administration twice to comment on some things I’m working on. He’s given somehow managed to use the word “focus” about a dozen times. When I called him out on it, he said that tomorrow the words of the day will be: “concentrate, pinpoint, direct, knuckle-down, fixate, hone-in . . . “

Good deal. No matter what you say about the guy, at least he returns calls. There are a number of folks in this area – elected or appointed – who don’t. Not a lot of transparency when you can’t return a call. Not a lot of guts, either.

Later.

Scott Frith likes to say 'focus'

Interim Election Administrator Scott Frith, left, says he’s going to keep on keeping on.

Or something like that.

I just had a brief conversation with Frith, who is standing in for his old boss Greg Mackay (fired by the Knox County Election Commission on Friday).

He said that he hasn’t talked to Mackay nor does he plan to.

“It’s just not appropriate,” he said. “My job is to be focused on the next election and running this office and that’s it.”

He added that he does plan to apply for the job.

But, right now he’s “not hiring or firing anyone – that’s not my job.”

“I’ll work with the staff I have as long as I’m interim (administrator). That’s what I understand the charge (the election commission) gave me.”

He also addressed rumors that Mackay and he would switch jobs. In other words, Mackay would take his $83,000-a-year deputy administrator job and he’d take the $96,000 to $110,000 administrator job.

“Those are just rumors,” he said, again adding that he doesn’t plan to call Mackay. “Right now I’m focusing on the (upcoming City of Knoxville) elections.”

I asked about redistricting.

“Yeah, and redistricting and all the other duties of the office, too,” he added. “I’ve been focused on keeping us all focused on the job.”

He sure does like to use the word “focus.”

He said he also told the staff to “continue doing the professional job that they’re doing.”

“The most important thing is that I told them for the next week and a half or however long I’m the interim administrator, we need to keep the ship on course and that’s what I’m going to do.”

In the meantime, folks have until 9 a.m. April 26 to apply for the job.

Who's going to be election chief?

I wasn’t going to post anything this evening, but I've got some time to kill before Family Guy comes on.

Yeah, it’s probably no surprise that I like that show.

Anyhoo, just two days after the election commission gave administrator Greg Mackay, who actually ran the show, the boot, there’s a few names floating around to replace him.

Which isn’t really surprising. People like to gossip in the Deathstar. And in 2009 roughly 45 people applied. (Hey, who wouldn't want that sweet job? It pays well and you get that goood county health insurance.)

I throw these out for now.

Scott Frith, the interim administrator is one. But I don’t think he’s going to get it. He takes law classes at night and I think commissioners want someone with a stronger commitment. Not to say he isn’t committed. But, I just don’t see it. Plus, there’s some other issues there.

I do, however, see him sticking around. Someone has to tell the new guy/gal how to run the show. Of course, this is Knox County politics we’re talking about. And the smartest decisions aren’t always the norm.

But I digress.

The second name is Josh Burnett. He’s Trustee John Duncan’s chief of staff. And he’s in tight with a lot of those guys. He also considered applying a few years ago when the commission took applications, but didn’t. However, Josh told me tonight he’s not interested.

“I love what I’m doing but I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’ll stay as long as John Duncan will have me.”

Finally, Steve Hill and Victoria DeFreese are the others. (I'm not including Mackay because I don't think he'll apply. The Republicans rigged it so that he doesn't have a chance of getting an interview.)

My show is about to start, so don’t have time to comment on the last ones.

But I do want to add this final note.

Election Commissioner Cameron Brooks is leaving – probably at the end of the month because he's moving.

So, I’m assuming the Democrats on the local Legislative delegation are going to nominate someone for his seat.

Wouldn’t it be a kick in the ass if Greg Mackay got the appointment?

Heh.

Sure, he’d be only one vote in the minority. But he’d have a few questions to ask his fellow commissioners, the ones who technically run the election office and set policy.

Right? That is what they do, isn’t it?

I imagine the first thing he’d like to ask them is: “What’s your stance on voter fraud?”

I’m sure it will be directed to one member specifically.

The deck is now really stacked

I have to hand it to Knox County Election Commission Bob Bowman.

He’s had two years to think about how to get rid of (now former) Administrator of Elections Greg Mackay.

And he made sure to cover all their asses when he did. He made sure he's really gone this time. He made sure it wasn't about politics, but rather state law. Or at least how he interprets it. Because that's what good lawyers do.

(Of course, if Mackay sues . . . . well that’s another story.)

But, he made sure to also cover the commission on the application process. Because even if Mackay does reapply for the position, he’s not getting an interview.

No. Not like March 2009. You see last time 45 people applied and 12 got interviews.
This time only three get interviews – the top three selections that get the most support out of the five commissioners.

Sure, Mackay – if he applies – will get support from Cameron Brooks and Cassandra Stuart – the two Democrats. But don’t think for a minute that the three Republicans are ranking him any higher than No. 4 on their lists.

He’s gone.

The Republicans made sure of it when they gave Paul Crilly the boot because he jumped ship in 2009 and voted for the Democrat. They made sure to replace him with someone who was expected to vote for the Republican.

Oh well.

I don’t care. I don’t vote anyway.

I am, however, curious about one thing.

You see the commissioners – after they ousted Mackay gave his right-hand-man, Scott Frith, the gig. For now anyway. And Frith will apply for the job, just like he did two years ago.

Oddly enough (actually it isn’t odd), Mackay hired Frith, a Republican. And don’t let anyone tell you he didn’t do it to protect his own ass.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He knew this would happen one day. So, you might as well hire someone you like and prep them to do what you do. (And Scott was second on the list in the interview process back then. I won’t debate whether the list was stacked.)

But, and this is what gets me.

Why didn’t Frith, go into Mackay’s office as he was packing his crap and tell him: “Hey, man. Don’t leave. You’re my new deputy administrator.”

Ah, the politics of it all.

More on election commission mess

I’m somewhere over Florida right now as I type this, on my way to see the big greed-head rodent in Orlando.

So, I got some time to kill.

Because if I don’t keep myself occupied, I’m going to throw a little snot-kid and his stoned-dad in front of me out of the plane.

Anyhoo, was thinking about today’s story (click right smack here for the bad boy), and what I’ve heard, since it came out. One rumor has it that - Rob McNutt - the Republican Legislative delegation’s pick to serve on the county Election Commission won’t accept the appointment.

I don’t buy it. The guy is passionate. He wants the job. And he’s got his party’s support. For the most part. He’s staying.

The other rumor is that the election office will turn over the information I reported (That McNutt voted out of his precinct seven times) to the District Attorney General’s Office.

Well yeah. What did you think would happen?

If Elections Administrator Greg Mackay and his right-hand man Scott “attached at the hip” Frith didn’t, then they would be breaking the law.

If it’s possible that someone violated state election laws, then the election folks will at least have some type of discussion with prosecutors. (Hey, Scott, just having a little fun at your expense.)

With that said, the issue won't go anywhere. Even if McNutt intentionally and maliciously voted in the wrong precinct, I’m sure there is some statute of limitations that’s expired by now. I’m guessing it would be a two-year limit. Some of his infractions were more than a decade ago.

Also, I know people are going to come down on Mackay if he does talk to Attorney General Randy Nichols. They’ll say he shouldn’t do it. OK, cool. Say he does nothing. Well, what happens if the next time someone screws up it’s a Democrat?

You think the local Republicans are going to give that person a pass? Hell no.

So, Mackay has to talk. He’ll at least hold a brief conversation with the AG’s office. Probably nothing more.

OK, some other thoughts, really in no particular order. Mostly, what I’m doing here is “cleaning out the notebook,” giving you some information that didn’t make it into the story because of space issues, or relevance, or whatever.

Enjoy. It’s free.

So, Steve Hall, the state representative and long-time friend of McNutt. The big rumor - and this has been going on for years now really - going around the county Deathstar is that Hall wants Mackay’s job. A few years ago when the Republicans were gunning for Mackay, he applied.

Apparently, it didn’t work out too well for him.

“I told (the Election Commission) that I thought Greg Mackay was going a fine job,” he said. “But there was an indication that there would be a change, and if there was going to be a change, then I would have liked to have had that position.”

Hall joked that he thinks his remarks made a lot of fellow Republicans mad.

“They told me that I sounded like I was doing a commercial for Greg,” he said laughing.

I asked if he was again interested in the job. The commission in the upccoming weeks will probably decide on Mackay's future - whether to keep him, fire him or take applications for his job. Or whatever it is they do. Maybe they’ll do nothing. (No, by the way, Mackay is not term-limited.)

Damn, I’m rambling here.

Hall said he was not interested and that he would not apply.

“Not in the near future,” he said. “Who knows 10 years from now.”

Anyway, a few more things to address. First, the quote by state Rep. Ryan Haynes, the local Legislative delegation’s big dog (‘cause he’s got the chairmanship spot).

Folks on the message boards have been sticking it to him for pretty much blaming “a little old lady for punching the wrong keypad” for the reason election folks should share some of the blame for McNutt voting in the wrong precinct.

The tone of his statement, however, was lost in the printed word. That happens. Unfortunately. But Ryan was somewhat chuckling when he said it. In retrospect, I could have paraphrased him, wrote something like: Haynes suggested elections officials should share some of the blame. Perhaps, he said, someone didn’t use the keypad correctly.

Whatever.

I'm not going to second guess muyself. I just don’t want people to think the guy stereotyped poll workers or doesn’t like little old ladies.

But, with that said, I don’t buy it. No one punched the wrong key in SEVEN different elections.

Second thing to address is how I got this story. I’m not telling. But don’t start thinking it was Mackay. (And it also wasn’t local attorney Dennis Francis – another rumor I heard going around today. He’s never given me a tip that panned out, so he’s been shut off. Kidding. About the shut off part. His tips, however, do suck. ) But, back to Mackay. It wouldn’t have been in his best interest to tip me off. Not now, anyway.

He’s smart enough to know the best damage gets released the day before the election - not now. And no, I’m not covering for anyone. I don’t care who the election administrator is. In fact, the administrator (new or old) could screw up multiple elections and I wouldn't care. So long as the person returns my calls.

Third thing to address: McNutt.

I enjoyed talking to him. I don’t take great pleasure - despite what many of you may think - in busting someone on 1-A. I like to know them for a while before I do that.

Heh.

But seriously, he is a nice guy. He told me a few stories about how he’d take his children into the voting booths with him, when they were toddlers, and talk to them about the election process. (OK, no jokes here, please.)

He also seemed very passionate about community service, civic duty, whatever.

Again, I like the guy. (I doubt he likes me very much, but I digress.) And yes, the last thing on my mind - if my parents passed away three months apart and I was moving - would be to change my information with the election office. (Which is something he didn't do and is now subsequently in the limelight for.) However, it would be the first thing on my mind when I finally went down to the polls to vote. (Which also is something he did not do . . . .)

On a side note, I actually thought McNutt was living in the county and voting in city elections. Not that it makes much of a difference.

Last up is state Rep. Harry Tindell, a Democrat. I talked to him about for this story, but his comments didn’t make the paper. Not enough space. He wouldn’t touch it, though. Said that was all up to the Republicans. Smart guy.

I also called Republican state Senator Jamie Woodson for a comment on the story. Funny. I didn’t hear back from her.

On a final side note, I did mention county Mayor Tim Burchett in the story, but I was talking to him about McNutt's background. I never addressed the voting issues with the mayor.

Anyway, I’m out of town for a few. I imagine that I’ll still update, though.

In the meantime, I've got a mouse to catch tomorrow.

Update: I had some links connected to this post, mostly to bios, but Blogger is acting up today and I had to repost this without most of them.

Help Wanted: Election Commission

A “media alert” came in Friday when I was on vacation. Apparently, state Rep. Ryan Haynes and the rest of the Knox County Legislative Delegation are now accepting “letters of interest/resumes” for the Knox County Election Commission.

(Not sure why they didn’t save a few words and just say “applications.”)

Anyhoo, this is the first step, I suppose, to more election commission drama and current election administrator Greg Mackay’s fight to keep his job. Again.

I blogged about this awhile back. But here’s a quick rehash:

A few years ago, local officials urged the county’s state lawmakers to see to it that a Republican was appointed to Mackay’s job, in light of the then-new GOP-majority county Election Commission. (Mackay is a Democrat obviously or this wouldn’t be an issue.)

After a lot of publicity, the commission in a 3-2 vote kept Mackay.

That was only because one Republican on the commission – Paul Crilly – crossed over. People haven’t forgotten. So, it’s no surprise that Crilly is probably on his way out. I’m not sure if he’ll even re-apply for the job.

(The commissioners, by the way, serve for two-years and are not term-limited. They are appointed by the State Election Commission, based on recommendations from the state Legislative delegation. The Republican caucus makes the Republican selections and the Democratic caucus picks the Democrats.)

I think by now everyone knows that state Rep. Harry Tindell and state Rep. Joe Armstrong (both Democrats) plan to keep the same Dems – Cassandra McGee Stuart and Cameron Brooks – on the commission.

The safe bet, too, is on Chris Heagerty and Bob Bowman (both Republicans) sticking around.

So, we’re technically down to one replacement.

I haven’t been following this that closely, since we’re still a ways off, but I’ve heard a few names kicked around, including former county commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert, who is now helping to run courtroom security and swears he’s not packing a gun. (I’m not buying this rumor. The part about him applying, I mean. I’m still not sure about the gun part.)

But, Brian Hornback has an interesting theory.

He’s hearing that local attorney E. Michael “Breezy” Brezina III will replace Crilly. Brezina apparently works with Heagarty, also an attorney. (I swear there’s a lawyer joke in here somewhere.)

That actually makes some sense.

As the Metro Pulse recently noted:

“Heagerty is close to county Mayor Tim Burchett and will likely have some influence with Burchett over picking the next commissioner. The Republican delegation is likely to listen to Burchett, their former colleague, in making the appointment. So Heagerty will likely make the choice to replace Crilly . . . .”

So, does Heagerty pick his co-worker (Brezina) to serve with him?

He might.

But I’m not sure what role, if any, Burchett will play. He’s told me in the past that he doesn’t want to get involved in it. And at this point, I think he’s got more on his plate than that. Like the budget.

Additionally, the administration’s chief of staff, Dean Rice, told me tonight that: “They have a strong election commission and the delegation and the commission will be working together on these issues. That’s their job. There’s not a role for us to be engaged in (on that issue).”

So, what happens now?

We wait, I suppose.

For the drama.

Once the delegation makes its selections, the commission some time in April will probably meet to discuss Mackay’s job.

The big, not-so-secret, rumor is that the group will have Mackay and his deputy (who seems to be attached to his hip) Scott Frith, a Republican, swap jobs. That way, the Republicans are in charge, but the office still has Mackay's experience.

Then again, maybe nothing will happen.

Regardless, if you’re interested in some local election office fun, send your “letters of interest/resumes” (and no, you apparently can’t email them) to:

Rep. Ryan Haynes
Chairman, Knox County Legislative Delegation
301 6th Avenue North
Suite 214 War Memorial Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243