Recently Terry Hill was elected chair of the Knox County Commission over Angela Russell by a 6-to-5 vote. A majority of GOP commissioners backed Russell while two Republicans and four Democrats backed Hill. Some Republicans argue that all the commission's Republicans should have backed Russell because a majority of GOP members wanted her.
Russell has a mixed record on county commission: She has skipped voting on more issues than any other member. My feeling is that a duly-elected commissioner should vote one way or other other on all matters presented to the commission. Abstaining should be reserved for a clear conflict of interest.
In August, Knox News politics reporter Allie Feinberg revealed Russell had abstained on votes 31 times since she
was elected in 2024. This is unacceptable. Russell has never explained this to the public or the full commission. Furthermore, I believe the first duty of any commissioner is to the district's voters. It is not to a political party whose members are chosen by other citizens.
Knox County Mayor Betsy Henderson, who supported Russell, and Hill need to sit down and resolve their obvious differences. Henderson cannot govern well with out a majority on commission helping her.
Knoxville celebrates its 235th birthdayon Oct. 3, and the Knoxville History Project will host a one-day symposium, "America 250 and the Road to Knoxville," Oct. 2 at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St.. The cost to attend is $20 per person and includes drinks, snacks, a buffet lunch and a new booklet produced especially for this occasion.
The all-day symposium, which will run 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., will feature fascinating talks by Knoxville historians and archivists, including Jack Neely, Dr. Warren Dockter, Dr. Chris Magra, Kevin Bogle, Paul James, Dr. Brooke Bauer, Eric Dawson and Zachary Keith. Register at https://knoxvillehistoryproject.org/america250/.
Safety City recently celebrated 25 years of service to the city and county. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith participated in the celebration of Safety City's founding.
"The concept of Safety City is one of providing 'hands-on' safety education within a child-size setting complete with buildings, paved streets and sidewalks, working traffic signals and traffic signs," says the city's website.
Tennessee taxpayers are providing security to the two major party nominees for governor: Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green. This started soon after the primary in August.
This year there are two credible independent candidates for governor: Lauren Pinkston and David Hatley.
Given the recent unfortunate attack on Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, security has become a priority. An armed man who has been accused of charging toward Actonduring a campaign appearance at a fair pleaded not guilty on Sept. 8 to multiple misdemeanor charges.
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett continues to defend President Donald Trump on the war in Iran, which has triggered the loss of American lives and sharply increased gas prices. He is silent on Trump's effort to restrict mail-in ballots. Here in Knox County, with Chris Davis as the administrator of the election commission, we have had smooth reporting on mailed-in ballots. There is zero corruption. Burchett has remained silent on the outstanding record of the Knox County Election Commissionwhile attacking Democrats as "sewer rats."
Many years ago, when Burchett was a state lawmaker, he never stooped so low as to attack the character of opponents such as Maria Peroulas or Tim Hutchison. He was open friends with Democrats such as the late Danny Mayfield and former Gov. Phil Bredesen. Burchett could have trouble this year winning Knox County given the strong vote for Democrat Beau Hawk in his unsuccessful run for Knox County mayor. Hawk already has announced he will run to replace the term-limited Kincannon as Knoxville mayor in 2027.
Birthdays
Oct. 3: Tim Harris is 72. Alyson F. Gallaher is 49. Tim Williams is 71. Christopher Taylor is 53.
Oct. 4: Margaret Ritchie is 60. Kelsey Finch is 70. Mike Odom is 54. James D. VanderSteeg is 63. Robert Koho is 84.
Oct. 5: Donna Chase is 72. Betty Sue Sparks is 79. Merrill Ammons is 74. Alex Varlan is 36. Dr. Kimbro Maguire is 69. Vince Artemenko is 43.
Oct. 6: Nzinga Bayano Amani is 34. Trace Nystrom is 21. Robert F. Elder is 72. Retired federal Judge Al Edgar is 86. Phil Claxton III is 81. Simon Bradbury, new CEO executive director of Lakeshore Park Conservancy, is 61.
Oct. 7: Lauren Madigan is 43. Mike Wooten is 69. Russian President Vladimir Putin is 74. Thomas Rentenbach is 87. Maddie Bell is 23.
Oct. 8: Harry Moskos, retired editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, is 90. Ashley Glander is 45. Wade Davies is 60. Former Knox County Commissioner R. Larry Smith is 73. Amy Broyles is 59. Hugh Neil Jr. is 82. Wilson Ritchie is 89. Joyce D. Lee is 75. Buddy F. Burkhardt is 69. Congressman David Kustoff is 60.
Oct. 9: Former University of Tennessee at Knoxville baseball coach Tony Vitello is 48. Gov. Bill Lee is 67. Jarrod R. Arellano is 50. Attorney J. Todd Bolinger is 63. Jeff Cain is 67. Laura Cain is 57.
Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News.
Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Angela Russell has abstained from too many commission votes | Opinion
