Elections will overshadow Caswell Park vote

Sandra ClarkLet's Talk

Tomorrow is a big day for Knoxville. Two things we know:

Knoxville City Council will for the first time have a female majority – depending on the election results, the ratio could be 7-2 women with the only guys being Andrew Roberto and whoever wins in District 5 (Charles Thomas or Charles Al-Bawi).

Parenthetically, the council could land with five members of color. Gwen McKenzie and Seema Singh are midway through their first terms. Charles Lomax (Seat A), David Hayes (Seat B) and Amelia Parker (Seat C) are running at-large. Parker led her district in the primary and is the most likely of the three to win.

Their opponents, respectively, are Lynne Fugate, a former school board member and bank executive who now heads the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians; Janet Testerman, daughter of a former mayor and CEO of Young-Williams Animal Center; and Amy Midis, a homeowners association officer whose husband is a physician. All three live in West Knoxville.

Caswell Park may shed land for homeless housing. City council’s Nov. 5 agenda includes rezoning three tracts on East Fifth Avenue – a controversial proposal that has aroused opposition from residents of Parkridge. Some are sharing this video on YouTube.

Does Mayor Rogero have five votes for this rezoning? It’s not sure. But it seems odd that this far-reaching issue could be decided on election day with the mayor and four council members leaving office in December.

LION Conference

We promised a recap of the national conference of independent online news publishers, held two weeks ago in Nashville. But we came away with so many ideas that we need a while to ponder.

Farragut mailer

Our final mailer of 2019 will reach readers on Nov. 20. We’re mailing to homes and businesses in Farragut – ZIP 37934. If anyone wants in, give a shout.

Conan the dog

The funniest skit on Saturday Night Live was a press conference with the dog who chased ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Heck, if you’ve read this far, it’s definitely worth a click. See you next time!

Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today. Reach her at 865-661-8777.

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