Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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K2Kouncil?

As the K2K Internet discussion group has raised various ruckuses about Knoxville politics over the last year and a half, several observers—including Mayor Victor Ashe—have suggested that some of the critics and skeptics on the list should get off their mousepads and seek office themselves. Well, one of the group's moderators is doing just that. Leslie Terry was a latecomer to the field in City Council's 2nd District, but she got her petition in on time and she's making a run for it. Terry, a professional singer and teacher, is one of the forum's more moderate moderators—unlike many of her colleagues, for example, she has not been vocal in the KnoxRecall effort. She's up against other contenders including Archie Ellis, Barbara Pelot and Joe Bailey. Could be interesting, considering that Ellis works for would-be downtown developer Ron Watkins, a man whose name tends to provoke shudders and epithets on K2K.

We Have Ways of Making You...

Speaking of KnoxRecall, as Metro Pulse went to press this week, the five plaintiffs challenging the Election Commission's decision to disqualify their move to recall Ashe and Council members Jack Sharp, Ed Shouse and Larry Cox were preparing to be deposed by City law Director Michael Kelley and Ashe lawyer Robert Watson. Earlier in the week, Chancellor Daryl Fansler had set a July 26 date for the hearing.

Since the case hinges on the narrow legal issue of whether the Knoxville City Charter prohibits recalling officials who, like the current targets, have not yet served two years of their current terms, Kelley's plan to depose plaintiffs Diana Conn, Steve Dupree, Regina Rizzi, Brent Minchey and Greg Ganues is puzzling.

Recall supporters aren't among the puzzled, however—they brand the depositions a "witch hunt" aimed at helping Ashe ferret out KnoxRecall's financial backers. Legally, the group is not required to disclose its contributors unless they succeed in their drive to get nearly 16,000 signatures on recall petitions required to bring the issue to a vote. Their deadline on the petition drive is July 17.

Kelley says the depositions are aimed at identifying whether the individual plaintiffs have actual legal standing in the case. He says only parties who have suffered specific damages are allowed to bring a suit. Needless to say, he doesn't think the Recallers meet that standard. He hopes to begin the depositions today.

Look for KnoxRecall lawyer Margaret Held to file for a protective order if the Ashe lawyers ask questions about KnoxRecall finances, or about their relatives, friends or employers. KnoxRecall is also asking the court to force the election commission to purge its roles, since door-to-door canvassing has uncovered many discrepancies, such as all of the now-nonexistent residents of College Homes still being registered to vote in the 6th District.

Fireworks

Travis Brasfield, former cop, city safety director, TBI agent and, still, man-about-town, pulled into the Summit Hill Weigels after a night on the town celebrating the 4th of July, went in for coffee and a donut with his girlfriend, Lisa Hanson, came back and climbed into his Dodge Ram truck—the kind with the extra cab space in the back. Brasfield, a West Knoxville lawyer, had just gotten to the Church Avenue viaduct when he heard Lisa say "Oh my God."

"This guy raised up in the back seat and told me to keep driving," Brasfield said. "I knew better than to drive to a secluded place, so I said 'No way.'' That's when he put the barrel to my head." Hanson hit the floor while Brasfield and the mugger struggled with a rifle. Brasfield took out his wallet and threw it onto the ground. "I said 'I'll back you out of here,' and when his feet hit the ground, I was gone. It wasn't time to play Gen. Custer."

The attacker ran back toward Townview Terrace apartments. Brasfield went to the hospital to get his hand sewn up. Earlier in the evening, he and Lisa had been trying to remember what they'd done the previous 4th. "I said 'I tell you what, honey, you won't forget this 4th of July.' "

Rolling on the River

Marva Anderson was driving down Holston Hills Road the other week behind a car that kept starting and stopping. The driver appeared to be lost, and when he got to Cliffside, he got out and came back to ask Anderson for directions.

"He was very upset and asked me if I was going to the same meeting he was. Just then, his car started to roll," Anderson said.

Since the eponymously named Cliffside Drive is perched precariously over the river, this was a problem. Luckily, the car was stopped by some shrubbery and ended up in a ditch rather than floating down the Holston River toward town. The driver apologized profusely for having mowed down a large bush and got the homeowner's name and address.

Another neighbor, Albert Baah, got his truck and pulled the car out of the ditch where it landed, and everyone was relieved when the older gentleman was able to drive away, promising to make good the damage he'd caused.

However, a couple of weeks after the accident, the homeowner, Judy Roy, still hasn't heard from the driver who flattened her japonica bush, even though everyone on the scene that day knew him.

His name? City Councilman Raleigh Wynn Sr., who says he's been waiting for Roy to call him. Baah, coincidentally, is a candidate for City Council this year in the 4th District.