Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Summer Heat

There'll be a lot of campaigning over the summer, with the August county general election and state primaries coming up, but some of the most intense politicking will be taking place quietly, behind closed doors. County Commission, for example, will choose a new chairman, and the jockeying began even before the May 7 primary. Sources say David Collins, once considered the front-runner to lead that body, will fall short of the necessary votes to capture the chairmanship. Smart money is now on Billy Tindell, a Democrat who represents a city-only district, but who is popular with his Republican colleagues and with the so-called "County Faction." The school board leadership will change, as well. Look for Sam Anderson, who served as chairman in the mid '90s, to do an encore.

Giving Good Phone

A couple of k2k subscribers are reporting receiving calls from something called "Paragon Research" this week. The friendly voice on the other end of the line asked questions about revitalizing downtown, revitalizing the waterfront, increasing number of police, improving parks and recreation, protecting historic buildings, developing new jobs. It was when the caller segued into specifics that things got interesting: "Do you think the Haslam family has done a lot to make Knoxville a better place?" "Do you think the Haslam family exerts too much influence in Knoxville?"

Since Bill Haslam is one of three all-but-announced candidates for mayor, it's logical to assume that these calls were made in behalf of one of the candidates. Candidate-to-be Tom Varlan says he's not doing the survey. Candidate-to-be Bud Gilbert (the only one of the three who has appointed a treasurer and is therefore entitled to raise money for such campaign expenses) says he's not doing any surveying. We didn't hear back from candidate-to-be Haslam by deadline time.

They Could Be Heroes

During last Thursday's Knox Heritage soirée at the Knoxville Museum of Art, the group's president, Randall DeFord, publicly thanked many local champions of preservation. He gave a special nod to Mayor Victor Ashe (who was present) for his recent aggressive activism on the issue. But he saved his greatest thanks for two entities who were notably absent from the proceedings: Fort Sanders property owner Jerry Hughes and the board of directors of Cherokee Country Club. Hughes, remember, was the guy who demolished six houses in the Fort last year despite a protective zoning ordinance. It was in response to his actions that state Sen. Tim Burchett first introduced a bill raising the fine for demolishing historic structures; and it was to that bill that the Cherokee gentry (or their lobbyist, anyway) appended their now-infamous anti-historic-zoning amendment, raising the hackles and ire of preservationists from Kingsport to Memphis. "They have unintentionally put preservation on the statewide stage," DeFord said. As a sign of the issue's new political prominence, other attendees at Thursday's affair included Burchett; Burchett's Democratic opponent, Bill Owen; state Rep. Jamie Hagood; City Council members Joe Hultquist and Rob Frost; Knox County sheriff candidate Jim Andrews; and likely mayoral candidates Tom Varlan and Bud Gilbert.

We Don't Ned No Education

They may oppose a state lottery, but members of the Gambling Free Tennessee Alliance could use the education such a lottery would fund. One of their business cards, which turned up at the Metro Pulse offices, proudly displays their name in large, bold type: "Gambling Free Tennesse Alliance."