Dems to name Armstrong replacement

The Knox County Democratic Party next week will nominate a candidate to replace long-time state Rep. Joe Armstrong on the November ballot.

Armstrong, who was found guilty of felony tax evasion on Monday, can no longer run for the House seat he's held for 28 years.

The party will meet at it's Morgan Street headquarters at 6 p.m.

Whoever gets the nod will face independent candidate Pete Drew.

As it stands, at least three folks are interested in the 15th District seat, including former interim Knoxville Mayor and current City Councilman Dan Brown; former City Council and school board candidate Rick Staples; and Joe's wife LeTonia, who is a lobbyist.

Things are getting a little interesting from what I understand some factions within that district's political community are starting to build.

On one hand you have Letonia and some folks just flat out don't want a dynasty. On the other hand, you've got Rick, who has already lost twice. So, there's the argument that maybe the voters don't want him holding office. And then there's Dan, who is definitely an all around good guy and was a very competent mayor, but a few folks have privately questioned whether he would be up for the frequent back-and-forth drive between Knoxville and Nashville.

That said, they all have good qualities. 

Stay tuned.

Parents scramble for money to reopen Powell Elementary School playground

With a new school year underway, parents at Powell Elementary are scrambling to raise as much as $12,000 to get the school’s playground up and running again.

The move comes after inspectors told school officials in early July that the playground’s mulch was no good and suggested shutting it down.

"It's going bad and it will be bad by the time this school year is over, so it needed to be replaced before this school year started," said Randy Smith, who works in the county's Risk Management Department. "The mulch eventually breaks down and turns to dirt.”

Since then, work crews have removed all of the old mulch, but school officials and parents are trying to figure out how to replace it and who should cover the costs.

Typically, the area’s various student-support organizations raise funds for playgrounds and the equipment. But, officials with the Powell Elementary School PTA say at this point they can’t afford it.

“Our operating budget is not even near what we need to fund the mulch and do the other things we do for our students,” such as family engagement activities, Halloween festivities, movie nights and staff appreciation events,” said Melissa Hammond, the school’s PTA president. “If we expend what this will take, we will have nothing left to do those other things for our school.”

Hammond said the organization each year budgets between $1,700 and $3,000 for the playground, which usually includes bringing in “a load or two” of mulch to top off what is already there.

Over the years, however, the mulch hardened and created a dangerous surface.

Replacing all of it will require at least four loads – maybe more – and cost between $10,000 and $12,000.

Rest of story right HERE.

Officials: Despite deaths, crashes, school buses safer than cars

(Monday and Tuesday on 10News at 6, why despite school bus safety problems, experts say children are safer on their way to school when riding the bus.)

 Parents of roughly 21,000 Knox County school students rely every day on bus drivers to safely get their children to and from school.

But a recent study commissioned by Knox County Schools found in the last half decade the school district has double the number of crashes it should for a district of its size.

And in the past three years alone, more than 60 bus drivers were to blame for some 120 wrecks.

That includes the three lives lost in the December 2014 accident that killed two elementary students and a teacher’s aide.

As a result, some officials believe, ridership has dropped.

Still, local, state and federal leaders also maintain that the bus – not a parent’s car – is the safest route to school.

“They’re bright yellow, they have a known route, a trained driver, you have side wall strength, you have roof strength, there are flashing lights, they are designed to be observed,” said Kris Poland, a senior biomechanical engineer who investigates crashes for the National Transportation Safety Board, including the one in Knoxville. “People know how to act around them in most cases.”

About five children die every year inside a school bus compared to 37,000 deaths inside cars, according to federal reports.

Still, school officials, investigators and those whose family members died on the afternoon of Dec. 2, 2014, say buses can be safer.

For rest of story and video, click HERE.

Elections: Fun with the write-ins

Voters might not have turned out last Thursday night, but phony baloney write-in names were certainly plentiful.

Walter the Bulldog? Mickey Mouse? Foghorn Leghorn?

You name it – from the funny, the serious, to the truly absurd – those few voters who did hit the ballot boxes had fun.

Or, maybe they just wanted to make a statement.

Some suggested Mickey Mouse for a state Senate seat, others felt Morris the Cat, James T Kirk, John Q Public or Flavia could do the job.

RELATED: The Write-In List

Heck, one person thought putting WBIR’s Mike Donila down for the South Knoxville county Commission seat was a good idea.

Someone also put “Donila the Thrilla” down for law director as well. (Attorney Don Bosch got a vote for that seat, too.)

Heh. I promise – it wasn’t me.

Or not.

“Anyone But” made an appearance, and so, too, did “Anyone Else,” Snow White, Abe Lincoln and Trumpisafascist.

Then there were other picks for Obama, Hilary, Trump and Bernie, too.

Oh yea, can’t forget Bill the Cat.

Former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe garnered a few votes, as did Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond, and local rogue blogger Brian Hornback.

In addition, county Clerk Foster Arnett, UT Football Coach Butch Jones and . . . Batman made appearances.

None of these aforementioned names counted, of course, since they weren’t registered with the Knox County Election Board.

In the meantime, the November general election is just around the corner.

Expect the fun to continue then.

State Rep. Armstrong guilty of filing false tax return; Democrats seeking replacement for November election

Joe Armstrong

Four days after winning the Democratic Primary, a federal grand jury found long-time state Rep. Joe Armstrong guilty of filing a false and fraudulent tax return.

The jury, however, declined to convict the veteran lawmaker on two other charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, and attempting to evade and defeat taxes.

Those two offenses carried stiffer penalties - each as much as five years behind bars. Filing a fraudulent tax return, which is a felony, carries up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

"We certainly think there was enough evidence to convict him of count one and count two but we’re very pleased with a conviction on count three," said Assistant U.S. District Attorney Chuck Atchley. "It’s a felony. He’s now a convicted felon."

Atchley said he will seek prison time for the lawmaker.

In addition, the prosecutor said, Armstrong "still owes the taxes and he’s still going to be accountable for the tax laws."

Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips sent a Nov. 30 sentencing hearing.

Armstrong and his attorney, Gregory P. Isaacs, left immediately after the verdict was announced.

In a released statement, Isaacs said: “State Rep. Joe Armstrong wants to thank all of his family, friends and constituents for their prayers and support throughout this process. Representative Armstrong is evaluating all of his available options at this time.”  

Armstrong faces an independent challengers in the November election, but that's not going to happen, according to state officials.

Secretary of State spokesman Adam Ghassemi said the felony conviction automatically disqualifies Armstrong from seeking re-election. He said the Democratic Party now has until Sept. 29 to nominate another candidate for the Nov. 8 general election.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini said the party is already looking into a replacement.

“As we have said from the start, this is a legal matter that is best left to our justice system," Mancini said ina released statement. "The justice system has now ruled and we will take whatever appropriate action necessary to remove Rep. Armstrong from office and replace him on the ballot in November.”

Armstrong spent most of last week in U.S. District Court on trial.

Rest of story HERE.

Susan Horn wins last open BOE seat

Susan Horn

In the only contested school board race, Susan Horn defeated Reuben “Buddy” Pelot, garnering just over 61 percent of the vote to represent the 5th District.

The board of education seats are non-partisan.

Horn will join Tony Norman and Jennifer Owen as new faces on the 9-member school board.

Norman and Owen defeated opponents in the March primary and were not in contested races Thursday. Norman (3rd District) and Owen (2nd District) replace Doug Harris and Tracie Sanger, respectively. Neither of the incumbents sought re-election.

Horn and Pelot were the top two vote-getters in a three-way March contest, so they squared off again. Karen Carson, the sitting incumbent for the seat, also didn’t run again.

In addition, 8th District incumbent Mike McMillan retained his seat after no one filed to challenge him in March.

The school board in the upcoming year will be tasked with hiring a new school superintendent to help oversee the system. Jim McIntyre and the current board reached an agreement to pay him one year’s salary of $227,000 to step down in early July.

Knox Co. Commish down to 1 Democrat

Evelyn Gill

The 11-member Knox County Commission will be down to a lone Democrat when officials are sworn in later this year.

Republicans on Thursday evening almost completed the political sweep during the general election, with only newcomer Evelyn Gill defeating Republican Michael Covington and independent Tyrone LaMar Fine in the Democrat-heavy 1st District that includes Lonsdale, Fort Sanders and Holston Hills.

Gill secured a little more than 67 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns, and will replace Sam McKenzie who opted not to run.

"We add diversity to the board of county commission, not only as a woman, not only as a minority, but I'm excited to get in and start work,” Gill said. "We have to move to the center in order to get the work of the first district done. We have to build consensus. That's the nature of what our democracy is about, but we also have to make sure that the voices of the first district are heard. That is what they put me in office to make sure of."

The board’s other Democrat – Amy Broyles – also chose not to seek re-election for her 2nd District seat. In that race, Republican Michele Carringer narrowly defeated Laura Kildare with 51.35 percent of the vote for that seat. The difference was 75 votes.

“I’m so humbled and so honored to be able to stand up here and tell you that the republicans have taken district 2 from the democrats tonight,” Carringer told the crowd of Republicans who gathered at the downtown Crowne Plaza Thursday. “I want to say my opponent ran a good race, and I wish her well in her future.”

Gill and Carringer join Hugh Nystrom and Carson Daily as new faces on the board.

Nystrom easily handled Marleen Davis in the 4th District race to represent part of west Knox County; and Daily beat Democrat James Hamilton and independent Tom Pierce with more than 58 percent of the vote to represent the 9th District in south Knox County.

“Marlene Davis really gave me a great run in this general election,” said Nystrom, who secured almost 58 percent of the vote. “I was not able take a break this summer.”

Nystrom called the primary and general elections with his opponents “civil, good races.”

“I hope to be a humble servant that listens well,” he added.

In addition, incumbent John Schoonmaker defeated Democrat Sheri Ridgeway in the 5th District with almost 76 percent of the vote, and incumbent Brad Anders beat Donna Lucas, a Democrat, for the 6th District seat with almost 66 percent of the vote.

Also, incumbent Dave Wright handily beat Donald Wiser, an independent, for the 8th District seat in East Knox County. Wright secured almost 80 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns.

Nystrom is the only board member to unseat an incumbent. In March he beat fellow Republican Jeff Ownby. Mike Brown, who represented south Knox County didn’t run again.

Daniel wins 18th District House seat

Two weeks after a now infamous shoving incident, incumbent state Rep. Martin Daniel of Knoxville defeated three GOP challengers to move on to the November general election.

In unofficial but complete returns, the 18th District House member garnered 35 percent of votes cast.

Steve Hall, who Daniel beat in 2014 to claim the seat, got about 25.5 percent of votes cast, James Corcoran got 25.3 percent and Bryan Dodson got 7.5 percent, returns show.

Martin Daniel, Bryan Dodson, Steve Hall, and James Corcoran

Daniel will face Democrat Brandi Price in the general election.

"I’m really gratified that the voters have approved what we have done over the past two years and weren’t distracted by all the things that didn’t matter,” Daniel told 10News.

"That all had little to do with my representation of the 18th District. The voters saw through all the obstruction, the fog and the distractions. I’m really happy about this.”

Daniel spoke from home. He did not join Republicans on Thursday night at party celebrations at the Crowne Plaza.

Daniel said he will spend the next few months preparing for the general election.

Rest of story right HERE.

Knox Co. early voting numbers in

Early voting for the Knox County general elections and the state and federal primaries wrapped up Saturday with a little more than 13,153 folks casting ballots.

The total breakdown: 11,977 voted early plus another 1,176 absentee so far. 

That means about 405 more residents voted during the past two weeks than voted early four years ago.

As of July 8 - right before early voting - Knox County had 226,702 active voters. In other words, something like 5.8 percent of active voters actually voted so far.

According to the county elections office, some 9,147 voted in the Republican primary; 3,749 in the Democratic primary and 207 in the general election. 

Election officials expect another 13,000 to 14,000 to show up on Thursday to vote. That's about what they had four years ago.

Armstrong to testify in his defense

Joe Armstrong

The federal criminal trial for state Rep. Joe Armstrong – accused of tax evasion – begins Tuesday morning and the Knoxville Democrat is expected to testify in his own defense.

During a 30-minute hearing on Monday, attorneys for both sides hammered out a number of details before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips.

Among them:

• Attorneys will get up to 45 minutes for opening arguments.
• The 12 jurors will be selected from a pool of 65 to 70 East Tennessee residents.
• Witnesses more than likely will testify only about the facts of the case and probably not touch on Armstrong’s character.
• The case will last about a week.
• Prosecutors can force Armstrong’s wife to testify so long as they don’t violate the marital privilege of confidentiality.

Prosecutors allege the longtime East Knoxville Democrat used his position to buy state cigarette tax stamps some 8-10 years ago before an increase was passed by the state Legislature. He then sold them for a profit, they allege, and failed to claim tens of thousands of dollars of the income on his taxes.

The government alleges he had help from his accountant and an unindicted co-conspirator.

The defense counters that Armstrong used a tax preparer and had no intent to defraud the government.

Armstrong, who is charged with conspiracy to defraud the federal government and tax evasion, has continued to serve in the state Legislature while his case is litigated in federal court.

He is up for election this year but faces no opponent in Thursday’s primary.

KCS media relations policy change?

Well this is interesting:

Knox County Schools interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas is recommending the following paragraph to the BOE’s media relations policy:

The school system has a responsibility to provide information to the public, including members of the media, as appropriate. Therefore, the principal of each school shall be responsible for developing a public relations and outreach program for his or her school and shall promote programs which both involve and engage parents and the community in the life of the school and the success of students.

Glad to see the individual school given some autonomy on how to promote themselves. It's about time.

Rep. Duncan to speak at Center City Conservatives Republican Club

U.S. Rep John J. Duncan, Jr. will speak at the Center City Conservatives Republican Club during its monthly meeting on Aug. 25.

Club members will begin gathering at 5:45 p.m. at the Shoney's located at 4410 Western Avenue in Knoxville. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

The groups Facebook page is RIGHT HERE. You also can follow on Twitter RIGHT HERE.

As always, shoot your political stuff my way for publication consideration.