Part 1, Candidates react: FWKCC Speaker Series
What is your specific experience in participating with, or serving alongside, our local county government?
Arthur Morgan
“And so the answer is actually very simple. It’s minimal. I kind of see myself as someone who’s a lot like most of the people in Farragut and everywhere else in the county and the country don’t get very involved in local politics. And I think that that’s a shame.
“I think that this is something that’s getting involved in this: Learning about the issues is something that our community should be more engaged with. We should find a way to reach out to those like myself, who prior to this weren’t as engaged. I actually think my wife has always been the better one, and her voting record would support that as well.
“I will tell you that my background as far as bureaucracy and in dealing with large organizations like this, I’ve been mostly involved in my work in the hospital. And so I run the stroke program at Fort Sanders. I just handed that off to a partner of mine. I’ve started a tele-medicine program there. And so one of the things that I always pride myself in is identifying problems and working with administration to find solutions to those problems, even if they may not be obvious.”
Which current Commissioner or School Board member do you most admire or align with and why?
Toni Scott
“I have great admiration for anyone, actually, who is willing to serve in this capacity, and it has been a great honor of mine to get to spend a lot of time meeting our current commissioners. Throughout this campaign process, I’ve gotten to meet with a handful, not quite everyone, and I have benefited tremendously from their generous time and their counsel.
“And so I’m grateful for that. And I think that I would enjoy an opportunity to work with all of them if I am blessed to get to work on that board. That being said, I would say that I agree with probably no one on everything and someone on something, and I think that that’s actually a really valuable position to be in. I think that each district has its own unique needs and desires, and so I think that a collaboration of what we bring to the table is the most beneficial.”
How will you make yourself part of a greater team and negotiate conflicts when working through issues?
Dale Skidmore
“Well, any time you’re a part of a team or being on the commission, you want to definitely build relationships within that organization and work together because at the end of the day, I think each commissioner or each elected official has Knox County’s best interest in their heart.
“So we want to make Knox County the best place that you can live and work and raise a family. I would use kind of the same approach that I do in business. I would be a good listener. I would work with integrity. I would use my communication skills to be the best possible public servant I can be.
“And with conflicts of the issues, I think that you would want to make sure that you’re hearing both sides of the story and to see if you can find some kind of common ground to move forward. But as an elected official, decisions have to be made. I think that’s the hardest thing of politics, that when you make a decision, people don’t like some of the decisions that are made, and they can be mad at you, but you just have to serve again with honest and integrity.”
Brian Walker
“The biggest thing in any relationship, and we’ve got to look at the council, look at our commissioner as a relationship is communication and a little bit of understanding as well. Taking in everybody’s different viewpoints. We’re not going to agree on everything 100 percent. We’re not going to agree on all the issues that come across the board.
“But at the same time, we need to look at what the sake of the people are, what’s the best benefit for the most people we can look for and how we can help them. And as long as we have that goal up there, that’s all that really matters. Because we could disagree about small things, but the larger thing, that’s what we need to agree on. So, communication, understanding, listening to others, understanding all sides.
“And I promise you, I’m going to do my homework on every single issue that comes across. I’m going to deep dive and read everything I can possibly read and talk to before I make my decision, go with an open mind. At that point, we can move forward to help our community.
What is the biggest opportunity that Knox Count can take advantage of in the next four years and why?
Brad Hall
“Unified Development Ordinance, updating existing ordinances and regulations related to development in Knox County, including but not limited to: zoning ordinances, buildings and building regulations, stormwater, traffic, fire prevention, roads and bridges, traffic and vehicles, floods, subdivision regulations, leveraging business (creating opportunities) and investment in them.
“Everyone loves the region, which invites businesses to put down roots in a welcoming community,” he said. “Due to attractions, such as Smoky Mountains, the climate, UT sports, Oak Ridge Lab, Smokies Baseball and the newly renovated downtown area.”
What can be done to improve student achievement and ensure every student who graduates is ready for career or secondary education — college or technical training?
Lauren Morgan
I think for improving student achievement, we have to focus on the basics. So we’ve got to get back to making sure that literacy is a focus. One of Dr. Rysewiyk’s priorities is making sure the foundational skills are in place. So early reading, early literacy rates. We’ve got to improve those math skills specifically. I know they’re looking at middle school math as a target, and it is really important that we’re teaching our kids phonics in the classroom.
“We’ve got to do that early and young for them. And we need every teacher on board, and we need everybody to buy in, from the parents to the teachers, to make sure that we’re getting our kids where they are reading well before they even get to third grade. So that’s really important.
“And then we all know that every student who can read is going to be successful in what they can do later on. Also, I am a big supporter of Dr. (Jon) Rysewyk’s priorities, and one of those is career preparation and empowerment. And I know at Farragut High School, Dr. Bartlett has done a great job of making sure that students have exposure to things in their education and their time there at the high school.
“So whether that is working on vocational skills while they’re there in high school and being prepared to go on to technical training afterward or being exposed to their interest in the healthcare field or whatever it may be, it’s important that they have that exposure in their time as students in Knox County.”
Terrye Whitaker
“Definitely children need to be taught to read earlier, and they need to learn how to infer things, because I think that’s part of the problem with some of the standardized testing. It’s not that they can’t read, it’s they can’t infer as to what they’re meaning in the questions. But yes, starting early, that includes parents.
“Hopefully, they are very involved in their children’s education. I remember early on working at UT, I talked with someone who said she was amazed at how few parents actually knew their children’s teachers and got involved. And that bothers me, but that’s a personal decision within a family.
But if you have the right support staff within a classroom, then you can help those kids who don’t have the family support at home, learning to read and to be able to decipher things to make sure it makes sense to them. I also like the fact that Dr. (Jon) Rysewyk (Knox County superintendent) has four basic principles in the school, one of which is to make sure that kids are successful. And if you give a school the opportunity and the resources to be able to provide that for students, then they will be successful, whether that’s going to college or a trade school.
“And the WIOA, which was passed several years ago, provides an opportunity for the kids in school to work with businesses, with training. And that’s something that’s really important and gives the kids options as to where they want to go when they are out of school.
