That's why this whole thing may turn out to be the ultimate backroom deal in Knox County politics.

Complete and total voter disenfranchisement. When the ineligible incumbent says "Vote for me" what they are really saying is surrender your vote to the Republican or Democratic Party. Where in the Constitution are the Republican or Democratic Party mentioned?

I wasn't aware I had to pledge allegiance to the ward precinct chairman. I thought my responsibility was to vote.

the saga of the candidate who's working hard versus the candidate who's hardly working. It's from the 37917 listserv

the first email:

Amy (Broyles),
   I have a question before voting on Election Day.
   If Tindell wins the primary, and is found ineligible to be on the ballot for the general election, and the decision of who goes on the ballot goes to a caucus type meeting of the Democrats, will you support whoever gets the most votes in the primary to be placed on the general election ballot?   This is confusing, so I'm asking in an effort to find out how my primary vote may affect the choices in the general election.
Thanks.  C George

Amy Broyles' response:

 You're right, this is confusing - there are a lot of variables and possible scenarios! If either Jonathan or I get the most votes in the Primary, he or I would be on the ballot in the General Election. If Commissioner Tindell gets the most votes, and is then disqualified due to term limits, the Executive Committee of the Knox County Democratic Party determines who will run in his place. They will choose the person they believe would be the strongest candidate in the General Election. They could choose either Jonathan or me, or someone else entirely – even if that person didn't run in the Primary!

The vote count in the Primary is only one of many indicators at which the Executive Committee will look when they make their determination. Right now I believe I am the best candidate; however,
If someone surfaces after the Primary who I believe is a better candidate, I will support them. My focus is on keeping a Democrat (and the best Commissioner possible) in that Commission seat – and I will support whomever the Executive Committee decides has the best chance of winning the General Election.

If you are uncertain whom you wish to support, I would suggest checking out the websites of both Jonathan ((link...)) and myself ((link...)), then contacting each of us personally with any follow up questions you may have. Your vote does matter!

Thanks for your interest!
Amy

another response:

I think this is a fair question for each of the candidates, not just Amy.

Amy has years of experience as a volunteer with the Democratic party. She knows lots of people in the party and community. She has children already in the school system and has seen the positives (and negatives) of public schools. I worked with Amy on the last national election and found her to
be organized, smart, and politically savy while maintaining a down-to-earth attitude. She and her husband run a great local business so she has business smarts as well.

I've met the other candidates. If Amy wasn't running, I might have voted for one of them. BUT, since she is, I knew where my vote should go.

Beth Booker

The original questioner emails again:

Guess I'm not going to get the answer to my question.  I would hope that the Democratic Executive group would take  heavily into account the wishes of the voters in the primary and place on the ballot the person who comes in second in the primary, if Tindell wins the primary but can not be on the ballot in the general election.  It would seem logical that the other primary candidate would support the top vote getter in the primary, and I am asking Amy & Jonathan if they would do that.  If the Demo group does not  seek the opinion of the top vote getters in the primary, it seems like an inside job in which the voters voice was ignored.  Why does this seem to be a difficult question for a straight answer?   C George

Jonathan Wimmer responds:

C George-

I am sorry about the late reply but I've been out on the campaign trail all day.

While there are a number of things that Amy and I agree on, we are polar opposites on this issue.  Just over a week ago I publicly asked the term-limited incumbents to step down in deference to the
will of the people.  This is no different.  On Tuesday, voters in the second district will choose a candidate for County Commission, Seat 2B.  If Billy Tindell is the winner, is then stripped off the
ballot for the general election and Amy has come in 2nd, I WILL support her.  However, if I come in second (to Commissioner Tindell) I would hope that the executive committee of the Democratic Party (including Amy) would nominate me for the general election in keeping with the voters' wishes.  It seems preposterous to tell the voter you're going to heed his or her voice in office when you're getting there by doing just the opposite.

Best,
Jonathan Wimmer
Write-in Candidate
County Commission, Seat 2B

From C George again: 

Jonathan,
   That is exactly the information I needed from you and Amy.  Thank you for your reply to my question.  I hope we can hear from Amy with a direct answer as well. 
     Amy, the KNS said this morning that Amy is a member of the Demo executive committee which will probably decide who is placed on the ballot.  Is that true?  Surely not.   Informed voters are better able to make informed choices.    C George

What Amy Broyles said in the News Sentinel today:

It's also what Democrats Amy Broyles and Jonathan Wimmer are doing in the 2nd District, Seat B, race for incumbent Democrat Billy Tindell's position. Tindell had no opposition until the court ruling.

"We both want to get as many votes as we can. It's a strategy for both of us," Broyles said.

Broyles is a Democratic activist and member of the 125-member Democratic Party Executive Committee, which would select the nominees. Wimmer has been active in the Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Association and recently was elected its president but hasn't been active in the local Democratic Party.

Does Broyles think this gives her an advantage before the executive committee?

"If that gives me an upper hand, I'm proud of what I've done," she said.

bbeanster weighs in on 37917:

....setting the election dates to coincide with 'state and federal' elections while we are changing things up? It just does not make sense that I have to trek out to vote in this May primary.

btw, Democrats who opt to crossover and vote the Republican primary (for David Kiger, for example)

If you live in south Knoxville, yes, please.  Please.  Pretty, pretty please.

As "car guy" and "rikki" pointed out no rules were changed. Knowing your hard earned reputation for being accurate you may want to change your headline. It took some people awhile to understand what Brook Thompson, State Coordinator of Elections has said since the beginning (March 31st meeting of the Election Commission).

Forgive me if I was confused by Michael Silence's April 14th article (as many have pointed out). When the April 14th headline says "5% won't do it," and "there's a catch," and "'The 5 percent rule does not apply when there is somebody on the ballot,' said state election coordinator Brook Thompson" as if this were news, I guess I mistakenly assumed this was yet another new interpretation of the rules (not that there has been much of that going on.)

Voters who are paying attention might be even more confused if they saw the KNS article on April 10th which stated:

As of Friday, at least 14 people had notified the Election Commission that they plan to mount a campaign in an attempt to get their names added to the August general election ballot.

For that to happen, they must get at least 5 percent of the total vote cast in the district primary.

The article doesn't say anything about them having to beat someone on the "official" ballot. (Even if the candidates on the "offical" ballot are term-limited and ineligible to hold office.) If you don't like my headline, take it up with Michael Silence and the KNS.

And why should it "take some people awhile to understand what Brook Thompson was saying"? Why hasn't the KCEC been out front of that making sure people understand what's going on?

How many people going to the polls don't read blogs or newspapers every day and have no idea what is going on here? My 82 year old Dad can barely keep up, but he cares enough that he went to the trouble to find out who the 12 term limited commissioners are and write down their names so he could make sure he didn't vote for any of them.

In addition, you have not responded to my question as to whether there is any indication on the ballot or any notification to voters at the polling places that twelve candidates for county commission currently on the Knox County ballot have been ruled by the Tennessee Supreme Court as being ineligible for office. Is there?

You also never responded to my question as to whether the KCEC was instructed by the Knox County Law Director to remove the 12 term-limited candidates' name from the ballot. But I understand that was a situation in flux that has since been resolved and that it is now unfortunately a moot point.

As to your other points about my "accuracy"...

All this was done way before the Supreme Court decision. As per state law, we had to send the military/overseas ballots out on March 17th [2006]. We do not wait until a month before the election to print ballots, program machines and prepare for an election. They had to be layed out, proofread and printed before 3/17 [2006].

Something unusual was indeed going on. From the recent Tennessee Supreme Court decision:

On June 9, 2005, the trial court found that Shelby County’s term limits relate to the qualifications for holding office and, yherefore, the charter provision imposing the term limits was authorized by Tennessee Code Annotated section 5-1-201(4). The trial court also ruled that the charter provision was not the product of an unlawful delegation of the legislature’s power to establish qualifications for elected county officers in violation of Article VII of Tennessee’s constitution. Thus, the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants and denied injunctive relief to the plaintiffs.

This decision, from June of 2005, was ultimately upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court. What inquiries did the Knox County Election Commission maker regarding the June 9, 2005 finding and what effect it might have on Knox County elections?

Again, the Election Commission is a "ministerial" organization. We have those powers specifically granted by the State Legislature. No more, no less.

From the Knox County Election Commission website:

Mission Statement
The Knox County Election Commissions' purpose as designated
by Tennessee Code Annotated (2-1-102) is to:
- secure the freedom and purity of the ballot
- require voters to vote in the precincts they reside except as otherwise expressly permitted
- provide a comprehensive and uniform election procedure and encourage maximum participation by all citizens in the electoral process
Greg Mackay
Administrator of Elections

Along with that mission, there would appear to be a duty to seek impartial legal opinions on litigation and court decisions that might affect voter rights, the "freedom and purity of the ballot", and a "comprehensive and uniform election procedure". So how come Herb Moncier is the only one filing lawsuits?

Look, I have been thoroughly impressed with the KCEC operations and your running of Knox County elections. You are open, forthright, proactive, and responsive. I understand that this is an unprecedented, and totally screwed up situation. But lots of folks are also beginning to wonder why these issues haven't been resolved before now. And really, they still aren't.

At any rate, as someone else pointed out it is what it is and here we are. I hope the KCEC and Knox County government will take a proactive approach to resolving all these issues and running a good election that promotes democracy and good local government by the people.