A meet and greet for candidates in South Knoxville and Knox County is set for 6:30 p.m. July 9 at South High Senior Living, 835 Tipton Ave. District 9 County Commission candidates Matthew Park, Bryan Smith and Andy Fox are expected, but Fox recently has avoided being with Park and Smith. He might not be there.
The Fox campaign tried to remove Smith from the ballot and later ensured that he was excluded from a Conservative Republican forum in South Knoxville. They will be unable to bar Smith from this neighborhood meeting.
Voters may wonder why Fox is doing this. Would he bring this divisive approach to the County Commission if elected? At a recent Knoxville-Knox County Planning meeting that involved South Knoxville zoning issues, he introduced partisan politics to the public discussion, which triggered a strong negative reaction from Planning members and irked South Knoxville residents who felt he harmed their cause. Both Park and Smith attended.
Park continues to stress his support for improved pay for sheriff deputies, transparency from the county commission and road improvements in South Knox County.
The election is Aug. 1.
I received a push poll phone call last week from a survey group backing Garrett Holt over Shane Jackson for County Commission in my district (District 4 – west Knoxville-West Knox County). It came to my landline, which we seldom use.
It asked negative questions about Shane Jackson, among them:
- Would his support of a sales tax in Athens, Tennessee, (where he once lived and served on the city council) or his early resignation from his term on that council affect my vote?
- Would I be more likely to vote for Holt if I knew he would fight homelessness, oppose a county property tax hike and cut county spending?
All of these are impossible to answer in a credible manner without further information. We do not know if Jackson backed a sales tax hike, or if he did, why (only voters can enact a local sales tax in Tennessee, not a city council).
The poll also asked who I would favor for county mayor in 2026 and listed four names: Larsen Jay, Mike Hammond, Kim Frazier and Jason Zachary. I told the interviewer that two years out is much too early to answer that question.
Also, the caller listed no Democrats, when two years ago Democrat Debbie Helsley (now a city council member) got 45% of the vote against County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. She might run again.
The Holt campaign acknowledged authoring the push poll but said it was just preliminary to see what response they got before deciding whether they would go districtwide with it.
My advice to them is to concentrate on what Holt wants to do on the commission. This push poll – juvenile and misleading – will ultimately help Jackson.
Mayor Indya Kincannon has appointed Allison Page , 49, to the Knoxville Airport Authority. She is president of Magnolia Network, a basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. Page and her husband, Connor Coffey, live in West Knoxville and have two children.
Coffey was campaign manager for Kincannon’s successful 2023 mayoral reelection campaign. Page’s appointment was effective July 1. She replaces Julia Bentley.
In the space of 10 days last month, Knoxville lost three important leaders. Rev. Bill Barron, 81, was the longtime and beloved pastor of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church. Dr. Bob Overholt, 85, was a talented physician. And Gus Kampas, 87, was founder of the legendary Varsity Inn on Cumberland Avenue and all-around nice guy. All made a difference in their respective fields and will be missed.
Birthdays
July 4: Trisha Brady is 52. Harold Cannon Jr. is 66. Tammie Cole is 61. The Rev. Ben Garris is 35. Mark Heinz is 55. The Rev. Harold Middlebrook is 82. Dr. Gene Overholt, former city school board member, is 87.
July 5: Dr. Paul Ambrose is 80. Dr. Monica Crane is 50. Robin Easter is 62. Julie Nixon Eisenhower is 76. Retired judge Geoff Emery is 76. Constance Every is 39. Jane S. Gulley is 56. Mike McClamroch is 60. Architect Brandon Pace is 50. Warren Payne is 77. Elizabeth H. Wetherall is 33.
July 6: Jean Anderson is 61. Clarence Beaman III is 65. Harlan Breeden is 81. Former president George W. Bush is 78. Retired federal judge Thomas Phillips is 81. Marjorie Thigpen-Carter is 55. John Turley is 74. Former city councilman Gary Underwood is 68. Cameron Ward is 23.
July 7: Walt Anen is 93. Scott Bishop is 75. Jeffrey S. Busby is 60. Attorney David Draper is 63. Alfred Robinson is 94. Tracy L. Smith is 56.
July 8: Claudia Caballero is 39. Aaron Greenwald is 48. Attorney Rick Hollow is 84. Doug McKamey is 68. Councilwoman Amelia Parker is 45. Federal Judge Thomas Varlan is 68.
July 9: Anne McIntyre is 84. Matthew Teglas is 51. Kate Trudell is 41. Regenia Whaley is 71.
July 10: Kevin R. Barry is 47. Dayakar Penumadu is 59. David Witherspoon is 79.
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, and page number or the URL.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Will commission candidate attend event? Andy Fox’s tactics are divisive | Ashe
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