Candidates for Knoxville Mayor Have Principals: Democratic or Republican

OP-ED

As an active member of the District 1 Democrats, I am shocked at the support for a Republican candidate for mayor among elected Democratic officials who have gladly received funds from the local Democratic party, and its supporters.

And we aren’t talking a nominal Republican, but someone who has remained a supporter of the party of Trump. One who donated $2700 to Tim Burchett – a huge supporter of Trump.

Congressional representatives, senators, and governors do not just spring up. They usually rise through the political ranks – starting with a local office, gaining name recognition and a power base to move to the next rung of power.

That is why elected Democrats such as Rick Staples, Sam McKenzie, and Evetty Satterfield eagerly giving a leg up to a member of Trump’s Republican party is confounding and disturbing. Although the city races are “non-partisan”, Mannis chose to write Republican on his petition.

I was told by Cameron Brooks, former KCDP chair that doing that was a “rookie mistake.” But Mr. Mannis did fill out his own petition and proclaimed his party and those supporting him are apparently happy to support someone who remains a faithful member of Trump’s Republican Party.

The mayor’s office of a major city is the seat of a great deal of power. It is where issues such as affordable housing, police brutality, and economic growth are being addressed. We need a mayor who understands that energy use and the environment is far more about affordable housing and a standard of living than it is about hiking, tourism, or landscape.

In an age where police are shooting people of color mostly with no consequences, I am far more interested in a candidate that has served on the boards of Project Grad and Great Schools Partnership, than in someone who is endorsed by the police.

I am far more interested in a candidate educated in city planning and public policy that in one who runs the most expensive dry cleaner in town.

I am voting for Indya Kincannon for mayor because she is by far the better, more equipped candidate but she also believes in and supports my values as a progressive Democrat whose main concerns are social and racial justice, education, local economic growth, and the environment.

For these reasons, I choose to live by Rev. Harold Middlebrook’s cheer from this year’s Truman Day Democratic dinner  – “We’re Democrats! We’re Democrats! We stick together or together we’re stuck!”

Vote Kincannon!

Rebecca Loy

Editor’s note: We apologize for a previous post of Loy’s commentary that included a few additions that were not made or approved by Loy. It is not our policy to edit citizen commentary (save grammatic or inaccurate comments) without the writer’s approval. In this case it happened.