Commissioner Craig Leuthold established the rules. Each candidate will speak for 3 minutes.
Tom Salter spoke for 4 minutes and 4 seconds. He has a Masters in Education. He ran for the position in August. He has desired a process and feels that the voters have spoken. In August he received 3458 votes as the Democrat nominee against term limited Commissioner John Griess. His wife Joyce and he visited over 3500 homes. During these visits he said that the citizens of the fifth district want strong, safe neighborhoods. He will have an open door. He will pay more attention to the desires of the constituents than the wind on Commission. He believes there is a disconnect with what we as a community want and the Commission wants in Education. In the summer he asked for and received a briefing from school administrators on school finance. Knox County Schools has received less money over the years and Tom would like to get into the issue and find out why this is happening. He has been involved in community organizations. He is Director of Keep Knoxville Beautiful and in the past worked with a large family shelter.
Kyle Phillips spoke for 3 minutes and 31 seconds. He works in Market Research. Previously with John Deere and currently with Whirlpool in Marketing/Sales and Research. He currently serves as President of his neighborhood association the past 4 years. He ran unsuccessfully this past year in the Republican Primary against Commissioner Craig Leuthold. Mr. Phillips indicated that he received 30% of the vote in the Republican Primary. His goals as County Commissioner will be 1) Better fiscal responsibility 2) long term planning and 3) Education – putting the right dollars and right resources to improve our education system.
Greg Harrison spoke for 4 minutes and 46 seconds. He indicated that all candidates bring different aspects to the job and it appears there is a good cross section of our community represented in the replacement candidates. This is his first time for him to step forward as a candidate. He is a life long resident of the 5th district. He and his wife Jane have been married for 21 years. they have 2 children (1 attends Farragut Intermediate School) in 1975-1976 he was a member of the Cedar Bluff Middle School basketball team that won the Knox County middle school basketball tournament. He is an Attorney, he owns his own law firm . He obtained his undergraduate degree from University of Georgia at Athens in 1984. He Graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1987. He worked in the Knox County District Attorney Office for 5 years with Attorney General Ed Dossett. He worked in the Knox County District Attorney Office for 5 years with Attorney General Randy Nichols. During this time he worked as a trial Attorney with the sex offense and homicide unit. In 1996, he was appointed by Governor Sundquist as Executive Director TN Alcohol Beverage Commission and served for 4 years. In 2000 he began a private practice in Criminal defense work. His law firm Valliant, Harrison & Schwartz filed Knox County’s first term limit lawsuit Jordon -vs- Knox County.
Pamela Treacy spoke for 4 minutes 21 seconds. She stated that it is not popular to appoint the Commissioners but they are following the law. She said that she was prompted by someone last week to step up “people like you need to step up” She believes in standing for the needs of the Government. She said that she is a Tennessean by choice having moved here in 1994 to work with HGTV. She said I am a team player. Her goals will be 1) Communication: siting the high school as an example. I have supported things without the complete knowledge. She said that she is technology oriented (email). She has been meeting with a group of parents discussing ways to improve our community. 2) Commission needs to work with the school board. 3) Senior Citizens: When you go into a nursing home, do you want someone highly educated or someone that just barely got through high school? Today she is employed in Commercial Real Estate.
Marilyn Cobble spoke for 1 minute 51 seconds . She indicated that she is passionate about quality of life. She introduced her mother Lorainne. Her mother attends the Strang Senior Center. Marilyn believes in fiscal responsibility. The voters spoke in 1994 and she believes that there is a desire to move away from career politicians. She will have an open door policy and she believes that Government should reflect the communities diversity.
Robin Butler spoke for 4 minutes and 25 seconds. She first said that she did not know that she was speaking today and was very nervous. She said that she has two children at Farragut Middle School. When she discovered that more schools were getting more money than us that makes me very sad. She said that she is a Developer/Home Builder. When we moved to Halls it was because of the overgrowth in the West Knox Area. (She corrected herself and said that her company is building in Halls due to the overgrowth in the West Knox area. We did not build here because we built where we believed the growth was needed.) She said that she has been a business owner since she was 20 years old. She said that she took a company in bankruptcy, cut the fat out it and made it work. She attended Draughons Business College and UT. She obtained a certificate in landscape. She has two children and is a Sunday School teacher at Cokesbury United Methodist Church. She indicates that she has worked with the federal Government and the public.
Tamara Boyer spoke for 1 minute and 35 seconds. She said that she is a mom and a wife. She indicates that she is a hard worker and volunteer . She said that she is at a crossroads. She attended law school and is married and has a child. She is a Corporate Attorney and is ready and able to serve Knoxville.
