Qualfying deadline nears for county offices

Folks who want to run for public office have until noon Thursday, Feb. 18, to return a signed petition to the Election Commission to get on the ballot for the May 4 primaries.

The headliner is Tim Burchett vs. Tim Hutchison for county mayor. The primary winner will face independent Lewis Cosby in August.

John Duncan III is challenging Trustee Fred Sisk in what promises to be a barn-burner.

County Commission races will be tough as incumbents and wannabes are squeezed into one seat per district. The 7th District race includes incumbents R. Larry Smith and Michele Carringer along with well-funded challenger Lillian Williams. We call her well-funded because Lillian says she’s spending her kids’ inheritance while refusing to take donations from anyone “in the development community.”

Incumbents Sam McKenzie, Amy Broyles, Tony Norman, Finbarr Saunders, Richard Briggs, Brad Anders and Dave Wright look secure at this point, although challengers are emerging. Mike Brown will face a fight with Chuck “I want to buy your house” Ward in District 9.

Two at-large seats will round out the new 11-member Commission. Mike Hammond is cruising toward one seat, while Bud Armstrong and Ed Shouse will slug it out for the other.

We’ll try to keep political news (and propaganda) confined to the Shopper Page 4, with expanded coverage planned for April 26 and July 19.

Sepesi to run

Kim Sepesi, a Powell resident who has shown leadership in various civic activities, is running for the open school board seat in District 7. She talks of better communications, openness and accountability.

“We must make sure parents understand the new student performance measures,” she said. Kim and husband, John Sepesi Jr., have sons Connor, 12, who attends Powell Middle School, and Garrett, 10, a student at Brickey-McCloud.

Kim is a graduate of UT and a member of First Baptist Church of Powell.

While she was an officer in the Powell Business and Professional Association, the group raised funds for the Teen Driver program at Powell High School. The program promoted safety and helped students make good choices behind the wheel. The state of Tennessee provided a grant to produce a DVD of the Powell program to use statewide.

Cosby goes ‘indie’

Lewis Cosby, 59, who rose to political fame while challenging misspending in the office of Mayor Mike Ragsdale, is asking voters for one term to straighten things out in the mayor’s office.

An inactive CPA, Cosby graduated from UT and spent many years as an auditor. He previously owned and operated three television stations and currently owns Panera Bread stores in Florida.

If elected, Cosby would eliminate redundant positions in the mayor’s office and have senior directors report directly to him. He would reduce take-home cars and stop the use of fund balance (savings) for day-to-day operations.

His independent investigations of P-card purchases and conflicts of interests in Ragsdale’s office led to tightened controls and Ragsdale’s censure by County Commission. Ragsdale was caught on tape calling Cosby a “showboat,” even though he denied the act.

Farragut term limits bill moves ahead

State Rep. Ryan Haynes expects his bill to enable term limits for officials in the town of Farragut to pass during the current legislative session. The bill, also sponsored by Sen. Tim Burchett, would enable town voters to enact term limits for mayor and aldermen.

The current Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously requested the legislation.

In an interview from Nashville last Thursday, Haynes said several bills to restrict red light cameras are pending including one he’s sponsoring to ban tickets for rolling right turns on red. He said Captain Ben Harkins reports that most of the offenses caught on tape in Farragut are for right turns when motorists do not come to a complete stop.

Haynes said industry reps and some municipalities are lobbying against reform, but “I’ll support any bill to put more restrictions on (the cameras).” He predicts the bill most likely to move through committees is one to require graduated fines, lower for the first offense.

“If last year was the year of the gun, this year may be the year of the red light camera,” he said.

Haynes also expects legislation to allow the sale of wine in grocery stores to be presented again this year. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia allow wine in retail stores, he said.

Notes

n John Duncan III will kick off his campaign for Trustee with a free reception (donations appreciated) from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at The Foundry. Performance by Wendel Werner. Info: 684-1974.

n Lillian Williams got snowed out and had to reschedule her “meet and greet” at the Sterchi Mansion. The event is set for 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. Sterchi Mansion is located on Dry Gap Pike. Even if you don’t want to meet Lillian, seeing the house is worth the trip.

n Commissioners will interview candidates for the appointment to the school board from District 8 and for two openings on the board of zoning appeals starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the large assembly room, City County Building. Deadline for applicants is Feb. 11. Info: 215-2038.

n Charles Louis Kincannon (father of school board chair Indya Kincannon) will lecture on “The Politics and Policy Implications of the 2010 Census” at lunch Monday, Feb. 22, at UT’s Baker Center. Lunch is $15. RSVP to 974-0931 by Feb. 15. Kincannon retired as director of the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008. He joined the Census Bureau in 1963 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin.

n Dan Murphy tried to explain why school is called because of snow when roads in some parts of town are clear. “Our difficulty is we have city snow removal, which is quite good, and county snow removal, which is quite natural.”