So, it looks like Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero will have a challenger for her seat after all. Sort of. Heh.
Today at noon was the deadline to submit a name, and apparently Jack Knoxville is in the running. Now, I know it sounds fake, but apparently it's on the up and up, according to Knox County Election stud Cliff Rodgers.
"It is—she had her name legally changed from Jessica Lemin—I actually saw her (driver's license) with Jack A. Knoxville on it and I believe Chancellor Weaver signed the order," he told me. "We always check some sort of ID for a certified write-in candidate; otherwise, the process would be subject to too much mischief."
Rodgers added:
"As you well know, you can write-in whatever you like—and we record them. But a certified write-in means--in theory--that the candidate could actually win that race and be elected so we must be sure that that they are who they say they are. Remember too that when we have a certified write-in, we have to give notice to the State of Tennessee (since they have to file financial disclosures) and to any and all other candidates in that particular race. Therefore, Mayor Rogero is aware of Jack Knoxville’s write-in candidacy."
So, there ya go. Jack Knoxville. Good luck. You'll need it.
9 comments:
Jack Knoxville is a friend of mine, and if you'd followed up on this you might know that HE is a guy. His legal name is in fact Jack Knoxville. It's really disrespectful to a trans person to use their old name and is in fact referred to as "dead naming." It's also disrespectful to misgender people.
why would you publish someone's former name like that? especially since you're aware jack is transgender. aside from it being completely irrelevant, its a dick move. what the hell is wrong with you?? why not be positive that someone new might actually help out our shitty city instead of insulting the entire trans community and allies with this bullshit? why not be supportive? have you even looked at his website? maybe if you'd educated yourself a bit more, your "article" would be more informed on the REAL issues here instead of someone's fucking name? I lost respect for WBIR. way to represent,dude! and for those of you who are seriously interested in our city, PLEASE CHECK OUT JACK KNOXVILLE DOT COM and decide for yourself. I've been following his campaign since I first saw it on facebook and am excited for something NEW. stop being so gross and negative! jeez....
Samuel, thanks for your comment.
Pelissa, it's a blog, not an "article" and it's actually the first time anyone in the media even mentioned Knoxville's candidacy (and I actually pitched to another reporter that it was worth following). I'm not sure how Jack Knoxville was insulted. Credit to him for having the guts to throw his name in the proverbial political ring. My reference to him needing luck was tied to the fact that write-in candidates rarely have any chance of winning. By they, I won't be printing anymore of your comments until you show some class.
As far as the blog post goes, uh, yeah, it's about someone's name. Personally I think "Jack Knoxville" is a bad ass name, but it's also one worth checking to make sure it's legit. Long-time readers know that I post all the write-in names after the election.
As far as Knoxille being transgendered, yes, that is of public interest, especially when running for the city's highest elected office. Voters want to know about the candidates. Sorry if you don't like it.
also, I can't fathom how you'd think your writings of him wouldn't be offensive. you published a trans man's former name. if that isn't the epitome of disrespect, I'm not sure what is. maybe do some research on the trans community? it might help you sound more educated when writing your blog. and I'm sorry I misspoke about "blog" vs "article". my mistake. I did some research and found them to be different from each other. hey! doing research actually paid off :) I totally learned something I didn't know about before and apologized that I've offended your blog! :)
I fail to see why it's offensive. He changed his name. If Tim Burchett changes his name to Jim Burchett, you better believe we're going to use both names. Just like the media initially referred to Caitlyn as the former Bruce. When people go by nicknames for most of their life (law director Bud Armstrong is really "Richard") we go back and remind everyone of that name. Then there's the artist formerly known as Prince. Or whatever. Point, is not everyone knows who Jack Knoxville is. Some might be familiar with the former name. That's how you get the word out about a candidate. To harp on a former name might be disrespectful, but to initially point it out is not.
"Personally I think "Jack Knoxville" is a bad ass name, but it's also one worth checking to make sure it's legit."
Ditto. Welcome to Knoxville, Jack A. Knoxville (What's the A stand for, btw). Your #yugeballs will fit in with our skyline.
I'm glad you agree that it is disrespectful. because honestly, it was pointless. and offensive. I am not a trans person, but anyone pointing out something I've been trying to leave behind and (finally!) start a new (and extremely difficult) life, especially running for such an exposed and already difficult job, Jack Knoxville deserves more credit than you exposing his former name. like I said before, focus on the positive side of this situation. and whether or not you realize it, you ARE offending the LGBT community and you ARE representing WBIR.
I said it's disrespectful to harp on it, not to write about it.
But, you seem to have no idea how objective reporting and campaign coverage works. You put yourself out for an office, everything comes out. That's a fact. The so-called positive and the negative, whatever that is. You don't seem to get this. You want all sunshine and rainbows. Well, tough. (When Rogero ran for office by the way, there were some less than flattering stories about her past.)
Anyway, every media outlet that covers this story - and I guarantee you this - will talk about the and Jack's past. That's how it works. People want to know about the candidates. On a side note, I asked a couple friends in the LGBT community what they thought, and they didn't have a problem with the post.
I actually suggested a full news story, and one of our reporters has reached out to Jack.
That said, this conversation is over as I generally have a policy of not arguing with people on the internet who don't use real names. I put myself out there, Jack put himself out there, yet you do not.
Thanks for reading, sorry you disagree.
I'm tuning into this conversation a tad late, but...good job, Donilla, calmly answering PelissaF's rather odd objections.
Pelissa, beyond Donilla's explanation for going into this matter of Jack Knoxville's former name is a reason Donilla DID NOT suggest, namely that since the guy's name is "Knoxville," it's pretty obvious that he had a former name of some sort?! I mean, duh?!
Anyway, I don't think Donilla was being "disrespectful" of a transgender person for having researched Knoxville's former name. In fact, I very much suspect he didn't even know Knoxville was transgender *until* he researched the guy's former name. And if he hadn't researched it, I, for one would certainly have asked what his name used to be.
Since Donilla's suggested and you've confirmed that Knoxville is transgender, I have to ask: Why on earth is he running against Rogero? She is hugely supportive of the LGBT community and has been for forever.
My suggestion to Knoxville would have been to run against someone we actually need to get rid of. Foster Arnett comes to mind first...
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