Former Knox County Commissioner Carson Dailey died Oct. 22 after a battle with cancer. He was 66.
Dailey, who worked at Applied Industrial Technologies for almost 40 years, served on the Knox County Commission representing South Knox County 2016-2024.
A Doyle High School graduate, Dailey was proud of his service to the community where he spent his life, and he prioritized maintaining relationships with his constituents and those with whom he served.
When an infection from knee surgery in 2019 kept him from community events, his dedication to the role of commissioner left him frustrated.
"I’ve missed my first-ever commission meetings. I’ve missed ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings and homeowners’ events," Daileytold Knox TN Today at the time. "That’s
the worst part about this – I don’t get to serve my people.”
Dailey, a Republican, worked closely with his counterparts on the Knoxville City Council, including former city councilmember Tommy Smith, whose district overlapped with Dailey's. Smith presented Dailey with a plaque at the end of Dailey's tenure, saying the pair were "co-caretakers," Knox TN Today reported.
One way Dailey took care of South Knox County was through litter cleanups with Keep Knoxville Beautiful.
"Carson leads by example as he keeps Knoxville beautiful," the nonprofit posted on Facebook in 2024.
Former Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay, who sat next to Dailey during commission meetings twice a month from 2018 to 2024, told Knox News Dailey "was a fine man who will be remembered for a life well lived.
“I had the pleasure of serving alongside Commissioner Carson Dailey and can’t ever remember someone who cared more for his community than the South Knoxville representative," Jay said. "I’ll miss my friend and Knox County will forever miss one of our great public servants.”
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Former Knox County Commissioner Carson Dailey dies
