4th District Knox Co. Commission candidates presented
With a sense of service developed from more than four years as a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force — highlighted by combat and the witnessing battlefield death of a friend — Kyle Ward said he feels it’s his duty to run for 4th District Knox County Commission in the Tuesday, March 3, Republican Primary.
“By far the biggest influence on my life was my military career,” Ward said. “One of the guys I grew up with … he lost his life in Iraq.”
After the funeral, “I went to the recruiter, and several months later I got shipped off to basic (training),” he added about joining USAP.
Deployed to Afghanistan with the USAF Joint Special Operation Command Task Force, “Unfortunately, I had to watch one of my friends die over there,” he said.
By running in his first attempt at elected office, “I really want to honor their sacrifice and try and do as much as I can, and try and serve my country and my community to the fullest,” he added. “Try to be an example for the next generation behind me. … I’ve been on TV before advocating for veterans, particularly for PTSD veterans.”
Owner/founder of Ward Waste Solutions (six employees who serve about 5,000 clients), “We decided we were going to go to the people and talk to the people, we’ve been to 9,000 doors already (as of Monday, Feb. 24),” Ward said. “… No other campaign has come close to that number. … We’ll probably hit 10,000 here in the next coming days.
Based on his campaign contact with citizens, “The three biggest things important to them are infrastructure, education and low taxes,” he said.
In recent weeks, “Flooding has been a major issue and traffic flow has been a major issue,” Ward said. “We need to look at blowing out all the drainage systems that we have. Right now we have some clogged pipes that are leading to flooding. We need to do a better job of water drainage … in some of the areas of the fourth.”
As for traffic flow, “Northshore is probably the biggest problem area,” Ward said, “Especially during school in the morning,” which includes Northshore Elementary School. “There’s a good half-hour to an hour where there’s no turn lane. … People literally can’t leave their subdivisions. That’s a major issue for people in the fourth. … Probably the most pressing for us right now.”
For more information on his campaign, visit www.kyleward.com or e-mail kyleward@gmail.com
Tragedies never to be forgotten by millions of United States citizens actually were career catalysts — out of a sense of duty — for Scott Broyles.
A candidate for 4th District Knox County Commission who looks to advance to the August General Election with a win in the Tuesday, March 3, Republican Primary, “I am of the generation that grew up immediately in the era after Dr. Martin Luther King (Jr.) was killed in Memphis,” Broyles said.
“I grew up in Memphis, and it broke our city — and for a lot of us it pushed us toward service,” he added.
“… It’s part of what inspired me to become a police officer in Memphis, because I wanted to serve my community,” he added six years of law enforcement service there.
More than three decades later, “The next seminal event in my career were the attacks of 9/11 that happened — and so I wanted to serve my country, and I joined the Department of Homeland Security as a deputy director,” where Broyles served “nearly three years.”
Coming to Knoxville “was an opportunity with National Safe Skies Alliance … we do applied research and operational testing of aviation safety and security technology,” Broyles said about being NSSA president/CEO. “… We’ve got about 20 people employed here locally.”
While visiting Lipscomb University in Nashville, “They had just started this program, ‘Public Service & Leadership,” and I figured, ‘Man, I gotta do this,’” Broyles said.
“So, I found a way to drive back-and-forth on weekends to Nashville to get a master’s degree in (Public Service & Leadership), and that was six years ago,” he added.
Giving Knox County voters a choice for 4th District County Commissioner in August — that motived Democrat Todd Frommeyer to run for 4th District Knox County Commission. He is unopposed in the Tuesday, March 3, Democratic Primary.
“I just see a lot of the races tend to be Republicans running unopposed,” this retired military veteran and attorney said. “I kinda felt like 2020 was an election where more than just voting was something that I needed to do.
Informing his wife about throwing his hat into the ring, “She said, ‘I’m not going to support you unless you actually are going to try and win,’” Frommeyer said. “It’s not enough just to put your name on the line.”
As for issues, “I have some thoughts on how some things in Knox County aren’t going well,” Frommeyer said. “I think maybe my background and my point of view is something the Commission could use — so that’s why I am in the race.”
As a military attorney, “I was deployed to Iraq, I was deployed to Qatar,” he said.
After serving eight years in the U.S. Navy, “I did 12 years in the Air Force as an Air Force (Judge Advocate General) … I was the military equivalent of a public defender. … I served in various military positions. I retired as a major.
As a civilian, “I went to work for a financial protect bureau, which is the agency (U.S. Sen.) Elizabeth Warren (Democratic Presidential candidate) helped create,” he said. “I got to help consumers there fight.
“… There are plenty of people who are looking to help out the people with money ... and not enough people on the Commission who are looking out for the little guy.”
