When Justin Biggs was bounced in his bid for reelection as Knox County trustee, the friends he hired and paid generously followed him out the door.
Biggs became the first countywide elected official this century to lose reelection after Tyler Whetstone and I revealed he had misused taxpayer dollars on luxury trucks and hotel stays, and inflated his office's payroll by almost $400,000
to bring on people he had personal ties to.Who did Biggs hire? Back in 2025, I reported Biggs hired five new staffers with whom he had personal ties: Jason Dobbins (who Biggs fired after I asked him about the hotel stays and trucks), Brian Hornback, Kenneth Johnston, Jackie Raley, Tanner Raley and Monica Shingles. He also hired staffers Brady Elliott, Dedra Klotzbach,
Tiffaney Lawson, Gregory McPhetridge, Jasmine Smith and Jarvis Reado.
Dobbins, Elliott, Hornback, Klotzbach, Jackie Raley, Tanner Raley and Shingles accompanied Biggs on the trips out of town that attracted scrutiny.
Whose pay did Biggs bolster? In addition to his new hires, Biggs bolstered the pay of 16 employees by more than 9% each from 2022 through 2024: Bartley Anderson, Melanie Bates, Robin Benton, Teresa Boyer, Caleb Caldwell, Codie Devries, Dobbins, Eric Julian, Pearl Mathis, Linda McGinnis, Kimberly Rogers, Kirstie Smith, Cheryl Stanifer, John Warren, Mike Wheatley and Zita Williams.
Benton and McGinnis also accompanied Biggs on the trips out of town that attracted scrutiny.
Fifteen of Biggs' staffers left with him: Bates, Benton, Normal Daniel, Elliott, Bobby Graham, Hornback, James Johnson, Johnston, Julian, Mathis, Jerry McDaniel, Shingles, Smith, Peggy Wells and Williams left the office within a month of Biggs' transition out of power. Klotzbach, Lawson and Stanifer already had left the office.
The exodus isn't just in the trustee's office: As Sheriff Brent Gibson takes over, 19 members of former Sheriff Tom Spangler's administration have quit their jobs, too: Justin Bettencourt, Chadwick Capley, Drew Carles, Larry Clark, Kaitlin Davis, Elijah Eller, Houston Havasy, Josiah Lawson, Brayden McCampbell, Randall Nichols, Wesley Norris, Brayden Riendeau, Alejandro Rodriguez, Allison Rogers, Michael Ruble, Gregory Stinnett, Brian Webb, Storm Williams and Hannah Yearout.
The lists are from the Knox County human relations department, and more names were expected to be added as the transitions progress.
Turnover is normal: It's not unheard of for elected office holders who run large staffs to bring in new people when they take over from their predecessor, or for staffers to retire when an executive they've worked with for a while leaves office. The new county clerk, Richie Beeler, brought in a new chief of staff and Dwight van de Vate, a longtime mayoral staffer who was the chief of operations to former mayor Glenn Jacobs, retired Aug. 31.
But not all turnover is equal: The trustee and sheriff's offices experienced more turnover than any of the other elected offices as new officials took over, according to staffing records I reviewed.
It's not surprising because previous leaders in both offices were the subject of state investigations, with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigating KCSO and the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury investigating the trustee's office. Gibson and new Trustee Nick McBride both promised during their campaigns to clean up the agencies.
They've brought in their own new staffers to lead the effort.
McBride hires campaign supporter with experience: Former Grand Smokies Resort Lodge & Event Center general manager Nikki Minton Davis will be chief of staff to McBride. In a news release McBride sent out in August, he highlighted Davis' experience in the Knox County property assessor's office and her experience managing a large staff, office operations and budget. According to campaign finance records, she donated $1,000 to his campaign. Her salary will be $120,000.
Gibson hires pastor and KCSO chaplain: Gibson's pastor, Justin Pratt of Clear Springs Baptist Church, will be his spokesperson. In an August news release, former KCSO spokesperson Kimberly Glenn shared that Pratt was a chaplain for the agency and "has stood beside our deputies, our employees, and their families during some of the hardest moments imaginable. He understands this agency, but more importantly, he understands the people behind the badge." His annual salary will be $75,000.
New amenities are coming to Knoxville parks
Knoxville will receive more than $1 million from the state to make improvements at Gov. Ned McWherter, Holston River and Suttree Landing parks.
The city announced it was applying for grant money for the projects in March and held public meetings to discuss the proposals.
Improvements at Holston River Park - $400,000
"The city plans to use $400,000 to add a bicycle skills course and mountain bike trail at Holston River Park. The project will include a kids bike skills area anchored with a small asphalt pump track to provide beginner level skills development for young riders, as well as prefabricated trail features including gravel trail connections throughout the greenway system," a release from Tennessee House Republican Caucus says. "The mountain bike trail will be approximately 2,500 linear feet reinforced with stone and native soil. It will also serve as an adaptive mountain bike trail providing opportunities for people with limited mobility to enjoy the off-road trail experience."
Improvements at Gov. Ned McWherter and Suttree Landing Parks - $746,730
"Improvements at Gov. Ned McWherter Park include transforming the existing site into a river recreation hub with a large, multipurpose boat dock, kayak storage and rental station, boater staging area, pavilion and restrooms," a release from Tennessee House Republican Caucus says. "The project for Suttree Landing Park includes accessible kayak features to expand paddling access for people with disabilities, including wheelchair users and individuals with limited mobility. It also includes kayak storage and rental pods, as well as new native plants to improve the park and help protect the riverfront."
Knoxville will have to match the state funding, and the city is reviewing the requirements, Knoxville spokesperson Kristin Farley said.
Advocates call again for mental health experts to respond to police calls
Advocates are pushing hard again for the city to mandate mental health experts are called so they're first on the scene instead of police officers for some calls for help. The in-custody death of Patrick Joseph Allen, a 49-year-old man with paranoid schizophrenia, set off another wave of protests and talks.
Sending experts before police is often referred to as alternative response.
Neighbors, including, Allen's mother, Gelois Allen, told councilmembers at the end of their Sept. 1 meeting that a mental health expert might have saved Allen's life. One woman, Julya Johnson, shared the story of her sister, who had paranoia and died after an altercation with police.
"Officers were put into a situation our system should've worked to prevent," she said. "Why can someone repeatedly call 911 in an obvious crisis without that pattern triggering intervention? Why isn't that history available when the next call comes in? Our current system failed my sister and continues to fail people over and over."
KPD uses a different system: KPD uses what's called a co-response model, in which a specially trained officer and a behavioral-health worker from the Helen Ross McNabb Center respond to mental health or substance abuse calls. Advocacy groups such as Knoxville HEART have been pushing for an alternative response model instead, where only civilian mental health or addiction specialists respond to nonviolent crisis calls.
Alternative response just got voted down: On March 31, the city council and Mayor Indya Kincannon blocked a proposal from the United Way of Greater Knoxville and stakeholders including Knoxville HEART that laid out a pilot alternative response program to supplement co-response.
Was co-response used the night Allen died? No. KPD Spokesperson Scott Erland told my coworker, Hayden Dunbar, that Allen's call likely didn't qualify for co-response because it was "criminal in nature from the beginning." Workers who called the police said Allen was trespassing, and co-responder teams are for calls regarding "individuals experiencing behavioral health or substance abuse crises."
Closing the loop
Here are some outcomes of city council and county commission decisions I've told you were coming.
Knoxville City Council
- City councilmembers on Sept. 1 passed an ordinance limiting the number of monkeys, dogs and cats neighbors can own to four total.
Knox County Commission
- County commissioners on Aug. 31 allowed the county to lease 120 acres of Strong Stock Farm, 8217 Rutledge Pike, for agricultural activities, offices, demonstrations and county fairs, according to the letter. The goal is to build an agriculture complex similar to the James E. Ward Ag Center in Lebanon. The site is a potential new home for the Tennessee Valley Fair.
Five things you may have missed
Here are five news highlights from last week:
Tyler Whetstone reported a judge allowed indicted DA Jimmy Dunn to remain in office after cries for removal
I reported Jeff Talman plans to run for Knoxville mayor in 2027
I reported Knox County banned Flock cameras amid surveillance backlash
Devarrick Turner exclusively reported why Dolly Parton’s niece has a new favorite Dolly song after her death
I reported Vivian Shipe is running for an at-large seat on the Knoxville City Council
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 Trustee Justin Biggs' friends left office with him
