letter to the editor
Strong anti-appoint reaction to Jacobs
I would like to give an update to 5th District and Town of Farragut residents per the Knox County Charter Review Committee. Our July 30 meeting was very interesting.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs spoke during the public forum and stressed he wanted the Mayor’s Office to have the ability to appoint the Knox County Law Director in the future. This was again affirmed later in the meeting through his ownership of this initiative via his mayoral appointees driving the Amendment for a “mayoral appointed” Law Director.
What was most noteworthy (and probably a first in Knox County in recent memory) of the evening was an ever-presence of a robust coalition AGAINST the Knox County Mayor’s desire to take away their right to vote for Law Director.
Members and leadership of the full political spectrum are against this amendment as heard during the public forum, including the chairman of the Knox County Republican Party, the chairman of the Tennessee Conservative Union and the Leader of the local Black Lives Matter chapter.
Likewise, both 5th District County Commissioner John Schoonmaker and I are against having a “mayoral appointed” Law Director.
The KCCRC has a short time line according to the Knox County Election office to put amendments on the November ballot. As such, the KCCRC is targeting for the required two public hearings of the amendments coming this Monday, Aug. 10, at 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 5:30 p.m.
Immediately following the Aug. 12 hearing there will be the KCCRC meeting to vote on the amendments, including the Law Director.
All of these meetings/public forums are held at the City County Building (you have to go through security and there is a mask mandate), but please check with the Knox County Commission’s website for updates.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for farragutpress in providing a platform to give these important updates.
~ Bill Johns, MBA, MPA, Farragut
