And the race is on

Since most of you don’t live in Chicago, you won’t have the chance to vote often. But you can still vote early, because the polls opened July 16 for those like me who hate standing in line, crawling past obnoxious poll workers and signs reading “I like Mike.”

Whether you vote early or wait until Aug. 5, you’ll be confronted with only four contested County Commission races.

If you live in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th or 9th District, you’ll have but one name to choose from. But don’t despair, because your vote can still count in at least one of the new at-large races, seat 11, where Republican Ed Shouse squares off against Independent Bryan Moneyhun. In the other at-large contest, for seat 10, Republican Mike Hammond goes it alone now that Democratic nominee Eddie Evans has bowed out.

Before we go further, let’s not forget the Knox County Mayor’s race, where state Sen. Tim Burchett’s final margin over Democratic contender Ezra Maize is likely to make his primary victory over Tim Hutchison look like a nail-biter in comparison. On second thought, maybe we should forget it.

Back to commission. If you live in the 2nd, 4th or 7th District you’ll be faced with two names plus that perennial also-ran, Mr. Write-in. If you live anywhere in Knox County, you can choose between Shouse and Moneyhun for at-large seat 11, which covers approximately 2 million square miles, some of which is still uncharted.

And speaking of “money,” what does the smart money say about the outcome of the contested races? Only one, unfortunately, appears to offer any drama, so let’s save it for last.

The race for seat 11, also known as the “commissioner killer district,” should not be close. Kudos to Moneyhun for putting his name out there, but a victory here by the Independent candidate is about as likely as Sarah Palin becoming editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. Bryan’s bearded, friendly face is a familiar sight at commission meetings, but he’s the ultimate long shot.

It’s much the same in the 7th, where Republican R. Larry Smith will defeat Independent Steve Rogers no matter how hard Smith tries to lose. R. Larry has to be breathing easier now that Michele Carringer is out of the picture.

Jeff Ownby, Republican candidate for the 4th District, seems like a nice enough guy. But nice won’t be enough to unseat Democratic incumbent Finbarr Saunders. Sorry, Jeff.

At last we come to the 2nd District, where Democratic nominee and incumbent Amy Broyles is battling the cash-laden campaign of Demdependent Don Daugherty. Daugherty, former chair of the Knox County Democratic Party, wants the seat so badly that he spurned his first love, the Democrats.

This race has spawned more saber-rattling on the blogosphere than all the others combined. Among other issues, Broyles’ supporters want to know if Daugherty actually lives in the district he hopes to represent.

This one could be close, but look for the unsinkable Amy Broyles to pull it out.

Polite and no fight at Halls

After the publicity in this newspaper and others about the contest for a District 6 seat on the Republican State Executive Committee, the crowd at last Monday’s Halls Republican Club meeting was anxious for a brawl between contenders Brian Hornback and Ted Hatfield.

It didn’t happen. Both men steered a mostly diplomatic course in their remarks.

Hatfield promised to be “very accessible,” and said correspondents would receive an e-mail answer the same day and probably a phone call. The only touch of drama came when he referred to a letter he received from six former Knox County GOP chairs pledging their support for his candidacy.

Hatfield said he was “honored and humbled” by the endorsements. He concluded by urging his audience to “vote for Hatfield, not McCoy.”

Hornback struck a similar note when he noted he had been “very humbled and honored to serve as your Knox County chairman.”

After remarking that he had “very good connections” across the state, Hornback tackled the ticklish matter of Hatfield’s endorsement letter. “I’m proud that my opponent has these endorsements,” he said, but qualified his praise by adding that half of the signatories didn’t live in District 6.

“I’m a political independent,” Hornback said, who has “voted Republican every time.” Then, borrowing from former Gov. Winfield Dunn, Hornback wrapped up: “Support me if you can, oppose me if you must, but, above all, participate.”

Contesting for the other District 6 seat, Sally Absher and Suzanne Dewar were more voluble, especially Absher, who got so wound up that club president Wally Welch had to cut her off after 10 minutes.

Absher spoke with missionary fervor. For the first 50 years of her life, she said, she was “politically ignorant,” although a “cradle Republican.” She recalled traveling to Nashville in February 2009 for a Tea Party convention. She later co-chaired Knoxville’s Tax Day Tea Party gathering in April 2009.

Absher said “only so much can be done through protest,” and confessed that the Tea Party had little chance of becoming a “legitimate party” under our current two-party system. She called for the tea drinkers to join forces with the GOP.

Dewar avoided getting the hook from Welch, keeping her comments brief. She allowed that she was born to a Democratic family in Flint, Mich., that kept a picture of Jesus on the wall next to a picture of JFK.

She’s lived here 12 years, said Dewar, and wants to promote “good conservative” values.

All-but-elected Mayor Tim Burchett fielded a few questions early in the evening’s program. Asked whether PBA should be “more open and transparent,” Burchett vowed that “there will be no sacred cows” in his administration.

On the economic front, queried about the challenges facing Knox County, Burchett said he was “sick and tired of seeing these business developments with the same people sitting at the table.” He scored more points when he said Knox County was “the only business in the world where the employees of the business get the best parking.”

Contact: lvgknox@mindspring.com.