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Pulling the Pork
Knoxville has long institutionalized the pork barrel. Instead of City Council members attempting to monkey with the mayor’s budget they have a fund over which they have absolute discretion. It’s called the Community Improvement Fund, or 202 funds, after its budget designation. This year the fund contains $90,000, or $10,000 per Council member.
Since July 1, the following funds have been disbursed: Vice Mayor Mark Brown: $5,450; Barbara Pelot $4,450; Rob Frost $4,000; Joe Bailey $3,950; Chris Woodhull $2,850; Steve Hall $2,800; Bob Becker $1,250; Joe Hultquist $835; and Marilyn Roddy shows none. The total spent so far is $25,585.
The line items range from $150 to $500, with $250 being the usual grant amount. The FOP Lodge’s Back to School program got grants from seven Council members, as did Meals on Wheels. Those getting six grants included Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Keep Knoxville Beautiful, COIN, Vine Middle School, 844th Army Deployment event, and Gresham Middle School. Knox Heritage got five, as did West High School graduation project and Tennessee Stage Company. The rest are scattered among a variety of community groups.
Five months into the fiscal year Council members have $64,415 of the $90,000 left to disburse.
Gauging the Public Mood
State Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, is being criticized for supporting Lt. Gov. John Wilder’s re-election as speaker, though Republicans have captured control of the state senate. Burchett was a guest on Sound Off on Sunday morning (WIVK/WNOX) to face the voters. After a discussion of the issue, he got one phone call commending him for bipartisanship. For the rest of the show he was bombarded with calls and questions—all of them about TennCare.
Still in the Senate Picture
Congressman Harold Ford Jr. says that, contrary to rumor, he is still seriously in the hunt for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Bill Frist “should it become available.”
Ford, a frequent guest on the Imus in the Morning program on the radio and MSNBC, took over his Memphis seat after his father retired.
Tennessee has been trending more conservative and was in the Bush column in the recent presidential election. Ford can depend on heavy turnout in the major cities and will need Gov. Phil Bredesen and former Gov. Ned McWherter to help out in rural Democratic counties in West Tennessee. He has a winning personality and is an effective campaigner. His problem will be crafting a message for the exurbs that gave Bush huge margins, especially in the collar counties around Nashville and places like West Knox County.
Should Ford win, he would join newly elected Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as one of the few African Americans to serve in the U.S. Senate. The only other two in the last century were Sen. Edward Brooke, R-Massachusetts and Sen. Carol Mosley Braun D-Illinois.
Shock, Awe and Corker
Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker is well positioned to win the pre-primary for the Republican nomination for Sen. Bill Frist’s seat. He has major fund-raisers planned in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville that should put hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank by Jan. 1. It appears that Corker’s fund-raising strategy may be “shock and awe” that convinces other potential candidates to stay home. With a goal of 80 or 90 heavyweights on his host committee in Knoxville he may set a record for a fund-raising event for a statewide candidate. He already has Chattanooga and Knoxville locked down. In Knoxville, he has the support of Mayor Bill Haslam and family and County Mayor Mike Ragsdale. He also had Sheriff Tim Hutchison among 60 people who attended planning meetings for his upcoming fund-raiser. Frequent large campaign contributors like Bob Talbot and Rajah Jubran are on board.
Corker has enlisted Kim Kaegi as his chief fund-raiser. Kaegi’s considered the leading campaign finance specialist in the state for Republican candidates. She has helped Ted Welch and Jim Haslam raise millions for President Bush.
The potential six-pack of candidates for the Republican nomination may dwindle by, oh, the middle of January.
Lip Service So Far
County Mayor Mike Ragsdale is pursuing the merger of the hodge-podge of utility districts that provide service for much of Knox County outside the city limits. While there has been a great deal of lip service paid to the idea, actual progress has been slow. Utility districts have self-perpetuating boards with a lot of power in the state Legislature.
Despite a recent feature in the News Sentinel in which utility managers seemed to endorse the idea, behind the scenes there is a great deal of foot-dragging on meaningful action.
If Knox County is to get a handle on urban sprawl or development in general it has to get control of the sewer and water lines.
November 18, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 47
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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