by Barry Henderson
Except for retiring Rep. Jim Boyer, none of the Republican members of Knox County's delegation in the state Legislature made any kind of constructive effort to avert the debacle that shut down state government earlier this month. I'm not talking about supporting a state income tax here (though that would have been my personal preference). I'm talking about support for any revenue-raising measure that would have helped shore up education in general and our beleaguered University of Tennessee in particular. Instead, they left UT further damaged both by failing to fulfill prior funding commitments and by the shutdown itself, which UT President John Shumaker fears will hurt the university in many ways for years to come.
Unfortunately, only one of these four delinquent incumbents in the house has an opponent who promises to be more constructive if elected. Hence, my focus in this column is on the 17th district House race between delinquent Rep. Jamie Hagood and her Republican primary opponent Craig Kisabeth. (There's no Democrat running in this district, which encompasses some of West Knoxville's most affluent suburbs, much of South Knox and most of Jefferson County.)
Essentially it's a contest between an educator, Kisabeth, who is committed to strengthening education at all levels in this state, and an ambitious politician, Hagood, who seems mainly interested in her advancement to higher office.
After graduating from UT in 1977, Kisabeth began his teaching and coaching career at West High School before moving to Jefferson County High School in 1981. There, he has coached two state championship football teams while also teaching math. Yet Kisabeth is anything but your stereotypical "good old boy" football coach. His imposing countenance reinforces the conviction with which he says, "Being a 25-year educator, I feel I have an insight into the needs of education, and I understand the importance of education to the future of our state. We've got to make sure it's not left in the dungeon as far as overall per-capita spending is concerned. Right now, it ranges from 47th to 50th in the nation, and I don't think those are numbers to be proud of. I am a person of action who is not afraid to make tough decisions, and I've never backed down from a challenge."
Hagood is also a graduate of UT, where she was bestowed its highest undergraduate honor as a Torchbearer in 1994. After getting her law degree in 1997, she wasted little time getting into politics with a successful 1998 run for the 17th district House seat that was being vacated by Wayne Ritchie. A high proportion of UT faculty members and administrators live in the district, and its overall concern for the university's well being is evidenced by the support it gave to the progressive Ritchie.
The point of all of this is that Hagood should have championed UT's cause in Nashville. Yet she has let the university down at every turn when it comes to state funding. This year she opposed all three of the variant revenue raising measures (two of them sponsored by conservative Republicans) that came to a vote in the House prior to the unmet July 1 deadline for balancing the budget.
Instead, she co-sponsored a plan whose principal sponsor, Rep. Frank Buck, initially called the "tread water budget" before it got acronymically relabeled as CATS (for Continuing Adequate Taxes and Services). The CATS budget didn't provide for any of the $89 million in additional funding that Gov. Don Sundquist had recommended for higher education. Nor did it include any pay raises for teachers and other state employees. Especially reprehensible was its failure to honor the Legislature's prior commitment to help sustain UT's Centers of Excellence program with a $7.5 million contribution on which the university had been relying.
After CATS also got voted down and UT along with most of the rest of state government got shut down, it's true that Hagood voted on July 3 for the patchwork budget bill that finally got enacted. But this vote smacked more of desperation than resolve on her part.
Anyone in the district who puts a premium on reversing UT's continuing decline through more supportive representation in Nashville should vote for Craig Kisabeth in the Aug. 1 Republican primary.
Other Legislative Contests: The one other House race that appears closely contested is for the Republican nomination in the 19th district, from which Boyer is retiring. The two front-runners in that race, Harry Brooks and Wendell Hall, are both individuals of whom I think highly in personal terms. But their brand of conservatism and Metro Pulse's more liberal bent don't mix well, so I'm going to refrain from an endorsement.
 In the 18th district Republican primary, I have nothing good to say for either the incumbent Steve Buttry nor his far-right challenger Stacey Campfield.
On the Democrat side, Joe Armstrong is ever so deserving of reelection in the 15th house district. In the 7th Senate district primary, I welcome the articulate voice and engaging persona that political newcomer Kendall Wells brings to the contest. —Joe Sullivan
And in the County:There are six posts on Knox County Commission for which challenges remain in the Aug. 1 general election. In at least four of those races, there are candidates whose qualities stand out above their opponents'.
In District 7, the contest for Seat A could be billed as the battle of the Mary Lous. Mary Lou Kanipe has fielded a formidable challenge to Mary Lou Horner, the woman who has served on Commission since its formation in 1980, and who was on the old County Court before that.
Kanipe is the better choice to serve that district in the future. A Halls resident for more than 30 years, Kanipe has been a public school teacher and principal, most recently at Bearden High School. She was the first woman to be picked for a school administration role in the city's schools system more than 20 years ago, and she has been among the best and most effective principals since the county system took over operation of all the schools in its jurisdiction.
It's time to recognize that being an entertaining character, which at age 77 Horner certainly is, does not qualify her to return to Commission decade after decade after decade. Kanipe, 57, running as a Democrat, is a well-equipped candidate to change that. She deserves a districtwide majority on election day.
In District 3, Wanda Moody has presented a character of a different sort from Horner's. She is direct and to the point, often ruffling feathers with her style, but she does her homework and knows whereof she speaks. In her 16 years on Commission, she has exhibited the sort of spirit and tenacity that have served both her district and the county quite well. Her opponent in this election campaign lacks the kind of experience the Republican Moody brings to the table. She should be returned to Commission for another term.
In District 1, both seats are up for election. Incumbent Diane Jordan deserves to be returned to office in Seat A, and Thomas "Tank" Strickland is the better choice for Seat B. Both Democrats, Jordan and Strickland bring wide-ranging experience to the office and would give their district and the city better representation on Commission than their Republican opponents could.
No recommendation can be made in the 6th District, but in the 9th District, challenger Martha Olson, the Democrat, has shown some interesting new ideas that might improve and would certainly broaden the representation South Knoxvillians have been receiving on Commission.
July 18, 2002 * Vol. 12, No. 29
© 2002 Metro Pulse
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