When President Trump came to Knoxville for the Texas-Tennessee football game Sept. 26, it was noteworthy that new Republican Knox County Mayor Betsy Henderson was not at the airport to greet the president. U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett was on Air Force One, which meant he flew up to Washington the day before so he could fly down with the president, though he did not get to walk off the plane with Trump for all to see.
It has been normal protocol for many years that the local mayors – city and county – of either party are invited to welcome the president when he arrives for a visit. I participated in these greetings when I was mayor whether the president or vice president was a Republican or Democrat. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, who is not a fan
of Trump, was probably relieved not to be invited to the Air Force One arrival.
While it is exciting to have the president attend a football game at Nayland Stadium, it also was expensive for taxpayers. Trump returned to Washington at halftime. The trip cost at least $1.5 million, and Air Force One costs $177,000 to $206,000 an hour. It was in the air 2 hours and 20 minutes. Other costs included overtime for Knoxville police, deputies from Blount and Knox counties, cruisers and motorcycles, a motorcade of 20 vehicles with drivers, and TBI, FBI, Secret Service and military security at McGee Tyson Air Base and during the visit.
Trump stayed for only half the game and the score was close when he left. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had dinner at J.C. Holdway Restaurant the night before the game.
State Rep. Monte Fritts, who opposed Blackburn and U.S. Rep. John Rose in the GOP primary for governor in August, recently met with Blackburn at her request, along with top aide Ward Baker for more than 90 minutes. Fritts indicated she wanted his ideas on how to unify the GOP. According to Rose, Blackburn has not called and asked him for his help. This is odd and foolish.
Early voting starts Oct. 14 and runs until Oct. 29. Be sure to vote for your choice for governor, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, state senator and state representative, along with a Knoxville city charter amendment and three state constitutional amendments.
The city charter amendment on the ballot deserves attention and reduces the cost of elections. Its website can be found at www.knoxvilledecides.com. The amendment provides that any council candidate winning more than 50% of the vote in the district is immediately elected, the same as it is for mayor and municipal judge. Currently, council candidates are forced to run again within a few months of the August primary even if a majority has already chosen them.
The current mandated general election for a person who already has secured more than 50% of the vote is costly and serves no purpose.
Birthdays
Oct 17: General Max Haston is 69. The Rev. Doug Banister is 65. Conrad Plaut is 64. Susan Brackney is 88. John Faris is 64. Attorney James N. Arning is 55. Marguerite Hogan is 34. Sarah Frazier is 67. Edgar Miller is 92.
Oct 18: Steve Koella is 82. Elizabeth Stowers is 69. Ros Kingery III is 48. Laura K Bronstad is 50. Erica Lyon is 57. Stephen R Johnson is 51. Dr. Josh Williams is 74. Adam Russell is 45. Tiffany Carpenter is 52.
Oct 19: Jordan C. Wright is 44. Albert Gore III is 44. Susan Conway is 70. Daniel Feller is 76. Attorney John W. Croley is 68. Charles R. Debevoice is 65.
Oct 20: Chance Brown is 37. Kami L. Lunsford is 45. Artist Tom Riesing is 78. Joseph Sutter is 80. Andrew McCreary is 37. Former Vice President Kamala Harris is 62.
Oct 21: Andrea Bailey is 49. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 77. Melynda Whetsel is 75. Art dealer Joe Peruit is 74. Joseph Pardue is 79. Christopher Salmons is 43. Chloe Akers is 44. Retired Central Baptist of Bearden pastor the Rev. Larry Fields is 83.
Oct 22: Steve Rosen is 61. David Poczobut is 58. Karen Krieg is 80.
Oct 23: Matt Murray is 68. Former Knoxville City Councilmember Gwen McKenzie is 68. Tony Norman is 73. Joey Andrews is 43. T. Scott Jones is 60. Matthew Mench is 54. Georgiana Vines is 87. Lindsay Cates is 43. Retired banker Dale Keasling is 83 and Phil Lawson is 79.
Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Trump's football trip cost taxpayers over a million | Opinion
