He won’t receive hazardous duty pay if he wins election to the Knox County Commission District 4 seat, but Republican primary contender Kyle Ward views elected office as another way of serving the public.
A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, 2011-2012, his campaign theme reflects that notion: “I served my country, now I’m ready to serve Knox County.”
Ward says it’s something of a family tradition – his father served for a decade as head of the planning commission in Wilton, Connecticut, where Ward grew up. He’s lived in Knox County since his enlistment ended eight years ago. Since then he’s been a vocal advocate for better veterans’ care.
In 2015, Ward pooled his savings and spun the wheel to start his own business. “I put it all on black,” he says, and with the cooperation of his wife, Katie, (“She’s by far my rock”) Ward Waste Solutions was born.
Katie agreed they would live off her earnings for five years. Three-thousand households later, it’s apparent the Wards’ risk was justified. The company claims customers in West and South Knox County, Louisville and East Maryville.
Shoe leather and “knuckles for knocking” are prominent in Ward’s campaign tactics.
“We’ve knocked on about 9,500 doors,” he says, getting a mostly positive reaction. Ward estimates the campaign has reached about 80 percent of Republican voters in the district by this method of “going to the people.”
Ward attended St. Bonaventure University and, later, Western Connecticut State University. A focus on education, particularly in high schools, is an important part of his campaign message.
The candidate accurately notes that a college education isn’t necessarily the highway to high earnings. The trades are begging for new workers. In the increasingly mechanized and roboticized industrial world, many of those workers will be needed to build, maintain and repair the very machines doing the work once performed by men and women.
A seasoned, heavy equipment operator or an HVAC technician can earn more than the holder of a doctorate. This approach to educational needs aligns with Mayor Glenn Jacob’s thinking Ward says, adding that he’s been in “weekly conferences” on the subject with Jacobs’ staff.
He sums up saying, “We can do a better job for our kids.”
Other issues he considers vital to the economic and social health of the district and the county are infrastructure, maintaining a business-friendly tax environment and containing residential sprawl.
“We don’t want to become Nashville,” he says.
The “town center” is one approach to battling sprawl. Ward says that Gibbs, for example, could use a town center.
Coupled with the planning data and studies on hand, he says the completion of the 2020 census should give the county enough data to act proactively regarding infrastructure needs.
Ward gives credit to his primary election opponent, Scott Broyles, for running a clean campaign. He says he’s proud that his team has done the same.
He praises his campaign manager, Erik Wiatr, with words that any UT football fan can appreciate: “Erik is Phil Fulmer, calling the plays, and I’m Peyton Manning.”
We’ll have to wait until March 3 to find out if they qualify for the August “bowl” game.
Larry Van Guilder is the business/government editor for KnoxTNToday.