Comment
on this story

or The Rise and Fall of the '12 White Guy' Myth

by Brian Conley with Metro Pulse staff

A couple of years ago, in a Metro Pulse cover story featuring prominent local businessman Sam Furrow, editor Barry Henderson wrote: "When Metro Pulse coined the term, 'the 12 White Guys,' embodying the Knoxville power-and-influence-wielding establishment, it was never meant literally. There is no specified dozen, but the names Haslam and Clayton and Lawler would surely be included. So would Furrow." As the events of this fall's mayoral election unfolded, however, we began to wonder what kind of monster we had created. One candidate, Madeline Rogero, championed the refrain that too few people were making too many decisions in our city and garnered nearly half the popular vote by proclaiming, in effect, that she was the 'anti-white guy' candidate. However meritorious, clearly the "12 white guy" mantra was well-received by many who felt that her opponent and eventual winner of the election, Bill Haslam, embodied this perceived oligarchy. A vote for Rogero became a vote against the status quo, whereas a vote for Haslam was an endorsement of the top-down politics they viewed as business as usual in Knoxville.

At Metro Pulse, we weren't precisely sure what to make of this state of affairs. Should we revel in what seemed to be our own power to influence public discourse? Or were we culpable for creating a red herring of an issue that had been assembled by adding innuendo to half-truths and which, like Frankenstein's creature, had unnaturally taken on a life of its own? To answer these questions, we decided to explore the issue in earnest.

Would we find that there really are twelve white guys who run Knoxville? And, if so, could we identify them? Or would we find that the issue of power and influence in Knoxville is more complex? First, we asked: Why the number 12? It seems like a good number for doughnuts, bottle rockets and beer, but is it really an empirically divined enumeration for people of power? Could there not be 15 or 20 such powerbrokers? Why not 50 or 100? And why were they all white? Why were they all male?

Next, we debated the meaning of power. Did influence equate to power? Should we include elected officials for their sheer ability to affect public policy or should we conclude that the influence of behind-the-scenes players outlasted and, therefore, overmatched the temporary influence of politicians? Alas, we found that there were no absolute answers to these questions, so we put it to a vote. Each member of our editorial staff was asked to fill out a ballot naming who he/she believed were the most powerful/influential people in Knoxville. Everyone had to vote for at least 12, but was allowed to vote for more. The results of that poll were a bit surprising in that we discovered, at least in our collective opinion, the most powerful/influential people in Knoxville were neither all white, nor all male. Before we get to the results of our internal poll, however, the topic of power and influence in Knoxville warrants further discussion.

(In delving into the issue, it is important to note that a lot of what follows is conjecture and, while it may be telling and informative, it is merely meant as an exercise—a suggestion—that is far from definitive).

What we discovered is that, by and large, we believe that the people who head Knoxville's political hierarchy are the same people who are at the helm of its cultural and philanthropic interests. Most of them know each other through involvement in political campaigns, charitable organizations and cultural gatherings, and have formed a loose affiliation with one another—an inner circle of sorts. Mostly, they have achieved their influence through wealth and prominence derived from having been highly successful businessmen/women or, to some extent, by rising to the top of powerful institutions (i.e. TVA, the City of Knoxville, the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation, KUB, the Sheriff's Department, the News Sentinel, the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership). Where their political involvement is concerned, the majority of the people on our list seem mainly interested in attaining and preserving a pro-business climate with an emphasis on economic growth. And their philanthropic and cultural interests are most likely a byproduct of the fact that they truly believe that what is good for Knoxville is good for them and their businesses. But how does this inner circle wield its power?

Perhaps the most obvious way is by agreeing on political candidates to support. There is no doubt that the backing of Knoxville's power elite is very important, if not essential, to a candidate's chances of getting elected. And just how consequential a factor this support can be is evidenced by the fact that — seventeen years ago - the initial decision by members of the inner circle to back Victor Ashe for mayor continues to shape our city to this day. (If not term limited out of office, this decision could have influenced the city for many years to come). There is also compelling evidence that the inner circle played an essential role in ousting long-time County Executive Dwight Kessel by throwing its considerable weight behind his successor, Tommy Schumpert. Also, we believe that the reason current County Mayor Mike Ragsdale entered office without opposition was because the inner circle rewarded him for "waiting his turn" by throwing its financial support behind him, even before he announced his candidacy.

Although the power of this business and cultural elite can be profound, we discovered that there is also evidence that suggests their influence can, at times, be nullified or countermanded. For example, once an "anointed" candidate is elected, he or she acquires considerable power. Many who backed Victor Ashe ended up frustrated with him because they could not pull his strings on certain issues that were important to them, such as Cherokee Country Club's proposed demolition of the Smith-Coughlin house and support for the Chamber's various endeavors, including the controversial Knoxville Beltway project.

Another example of the inner circle's limited power is their failed 1996 attempt to consolidate city and county governments. Over the past quarter century, perhaps no other issue has so mobilized Knoxville's business community, yet their efforts were thwarted in large part due to their failure to recognize just how influential Sheriff Tim Hutchison had become. The people behind unification attempted to impose a "top cop" position to be appointed by the unified government's mayor. Realizing he stood no chance of being chosen for such a position, Hutchison worked tirelessly to derail the campaign and succeeded when voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to consolidate. Yet more evidence of the finite nature of the establishment's power are their failure to persuade Knoxvillians to subsidize the bloated and ill-conceived Universe Knoxville project (this despite a pep rally held in the auditorium at the headquarters of Pilot Corporation led by none other than Big Jim Haslam) and the defeat of H.T. Hackney's attempted relocation to the Ritta community.

So what does this tell us about the nature of power and influence in our community? Certainly, that the idea of 12 white guys running Knoxville is an oversimplification. But was the creation of the "12 white guy" myth a red herring? Not entirely. There is merit to the accusation that too few people have been making too many decisions in our city. And it is also sadly true that there is a dearth of female and minority representation among those perceived to be Knoxville's business and cultural elite. Fortunately, we believe that this model for decision-making in our community is beginning to evolve. Judging by the issues and results of the latest mayoral campaign, more and more Knoxvillians seem to be engaging in the dialogue over the direction of our city. And the fact that three women and three African-Americans made our list suggests that, while still deficient, there is at least some diversity of background and opinion among our city's leadership. We can only hope that, as a new mayor takes office for the first time in 16 years, these promising trends continue.

Now for the question of just who are the most powerful Knoxvillians. We found that the debate is endless. Opinions on the topic are sure to vary widely, and one person's notion of power may be quite different from another's, thus severely limiting the potential of coming to a consensus on just who are the 12 most powerful people in our city.

Still, we believe that our vote does shed some light on the issue. Though far from scientific, the fact that everyone on our top 12 list was named on at least half of the ballots cast would seem to indicate that these individuals are widely perceived to be among Knoxville's most influential. Of course, many will disagree with our picks, but that is what makes the subject so fascinating. Whether these people are the most powerful Knoxvillians is not the point. Shedding light on the topic and opening it for discussion is.