Victor Ashe
Knoxville's 54-year-old mayor has spent most of his adult life in public office. He was first elected to the State Legislature at age 23 and stayed there for 16 years before getting clobbered in a 1984 run for the U.S. Senate against Al Gore. After three years on the political sidelines, he defeated none other than Randy Tyree for mayor in 1987.
His theme throughout his 12 years in office has been making Knoxville "a city which looks good and works right." Nurturing the city's parks and greenway system has been his pride and joy, but he also claims to have gotten more streets paved, done more to strengthen police and fire protection, and been more responsive to neighborhood concerns than any mayor who went before. (The dwindling ranks of Fort Sanders homeowners might dispute that claim.)
Of late, building a new $160 million convention center on the World's Fair site (and fostering downtown and waterfront development to accompany it) has become his magnum opus. "Several of these initiatives are at a critical phase and a change in leadership could delay or even stop them. That's why I'm running for Mayor of Knoxville," Ashe's campaign literature advises.
Randy Tyree
Tyree came up from the ranks of the KPD to become the city's safety director in the early 1970s. He parleyed a high profile in that post (most notably leading drug busts in the UT campus area) into an upset victory over incumbent Mayor Kyle Testerman in 1975. During his eight years in office, he led Knoxville to one of its highest highs: the 1982 World's Fair; but he also left it on one of the city's lowest lows: near bankruptcy in the wake of the 1983 collapse of the Butcher banking empire that had been a mainstay of the city's economic—and Tyree's political—fortunes.
After leaving office, Tyree has remained civically active while earning his living as a "rain maker" on behalf of a Houston-based consulting firm that advises cities on waste water management. Now, at age 59, he says he's got that political "fire in the belly" again and is trying to recreate the underdoggish "Run Randy Run" buzz that carried him to victory over Testerman in 1975 and came close to beating Ashe in 1987.
Tyree also sees Knoxville as "a city at a crossroads" and claims that "my style of leadership" is better suited than what he portrays as Ashe's more contentious style. "I believe in consensus not conflict. I believe in building bridges to the future instead of burning bridges in the present..." So goes his campaign mantra.
Danny Mayfield
Mayfield was a political unknown when he challenged an entrenched incumbent for the 6th district seat on City Council in 1997. After pulling off a stunning upset in that race, he startled the political establishment once again when he announced his candidacy for mayor last spring.
Whether dressed in a business suit or the dashiki he wears upon occasion, Mayfield cuts a stylish figure. But some observers have questioned how much substance he's got to go with his style. Whatever he may lack in experience, though, he tries to make up for with youthful enthusiasm and charisma.
The first plank in his platform on the TeamMayfield.com website that he calls "central" to his campaign is to establish "A clearly articulated vision for our city. Our city doesn't have a mission statement. We have a statement of administrative goals, but no vision, no mission. It's like we are riding along in an automobile with no particular place to go. That is the biggest reason Knoxville is just mediocre."
His vision includes a renewed focus on downtown as the heart of our city, support for growth boundaries, and a challenge toward greater citizen participation.
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