MetroPulse Accounts

I would not say anything bad about one of our state Senators or a Knox County Commissioner that wanted to run for the office of Knox County Mayor. In a “typical” election cycle, it is expected to see career politicians striving to move on up the “political ladder” and run for a higher office.

There will be nothing “typical” about the local election in 2010, or the four years that follow. We are in hard times worldwide, we are in hard times in the US and we are in hard times here at home in Knox County. Property values are down, credit is tight and people are not spending money. This situation all reflects on the income of our county….revenues. Revenues are down everywhere in the State and, I am sorry to say, it appears this will be a long term situation and not a short trend.

In 2010, whoever is elected to be in charge of our county will inherit a legacy of poor financial decisions, wasteful spending and a bloated government machine.

The office of Knox County Mayor will have to be scaled back to what it was intended to be when our charter was conceived; Chief Executive Officer of Knox County. When did anyone see a Politician scale anything back?

The Executive Officer of the County has the obligation to control spending as well as the responsibility to keep the County running efficiently and provide an atmosphere for a good home life for our citizens and a proper education for our children. Especially in this financial climate, this is a position for a businessman and not a professional Politian. This is a position for a financial steward of Knox County.

I only see one community business leader willing to step up to the podium and question our spending practices. He was insulted and ignored by a man in the highest political position in our county. Still this man came forward with his financial skill set and institutional knowledge and tried to help by giving advice on the financial condition of our County. He was not interested in political gain or public admiration. He did it because he cares about our county and realized how much Knox County’s debt has risen since 2002.

Lewis Cosby is an inactive CPA who at one time professionally audited Knox County under previous administrations. He has been involved with audits of other counties as well as TVA. He is a past owner of a Communications business and a current partner in a local food chain.

Could we get Lewis to be the Chief Executive Officer of Knox County for a term?

Ethics Point

Reply from ethics violation concern:

Follow-Up Questions/Comments
The company has submitted a comment or a question for you to answer.

6/24/2008 9:25 PM - Thank you for your interest in the Knoxville News Sentinel. The newspaper welcomes comments on the Knox Charter petition, opposing or not. You may comment online or write for print publication, by directing your letters to Jack McElroy at mcelroyj@knoxnews.com. If you would like to discuss these issues with the publisher, Bruce Hartmann, you may call him at 342-6920. The News Sentinel often endorses candidates and issues affecting their local communities, but prides itself on fully and objectively covering local news. Please let me know if you have additional questions, otherwise, I will consider this matter closed.

Denise Kuprionis
Ethics Officer
513/977-3835 – direct line

CLOSED?

Unresolved at this point in time would be my take.

The reply to others who spoke with Ethics Point was a cut and paste of this reply that I received.