Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Fueling the fire for Trustee 'fix'

So at some point during yesterday's Knox County Commission meeting, a number of board members were leaning toward postponing the vote to select a trustee. One key argument was that Commissioner Mike Brown wasn't there.

Members suggested waiting anywhere between 14 days and next month's voting session. Eventually, they opted to vote instead.

This is actually a head scratcher and is only going to (cliche alert) fuel the fire that "the fix was in." (And no, I don't believe there was a fix, but whatever.)

So, think about it.

During last week's work session, the board agreed to hold off the vote on whether to fire county internal auditor Richard Walls. The reason? Brown wouldn't be there to vote.

You see, word going around is that there are enough commissioners (you need six) to vote out Walls. Yet, Brown is a Walls' supporter. So, that was the excuse: Give Brown a chance to weigh in. But, what difference does it make if the other side has its six votes? None.

However, yesterday's trustee vote - which is certainly a  more important matter - was a heck of a lot closer. It went four round until commission Chairman Tony Norman said the "heck with it" and broke the 5-5 tie, switching over vote for Craig Leuthold.

Too bad we'll never know what would have happened had Brown been there. It certainly would have made sense to wait for his return. I guess.

I mean, the board was going to wait for him on the Walls vote, which a lot of folks say is a done deal. (I hope not - Walls is a good guy.)

Like I said: What's the hurry? The board postpones practically everything else. Heh.

Anyhoo, in the meantime, congrats goes out to Leuthold.

For all the trash talk going around, I'm sure he'll do a good job, and his appointment will certainly make for a spirited race if Commissioner Ed Shouse does decide to run against him in next May's Republican primary.

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