By David Hayes, Former Candidate for at large City Council seat
KNOXVILLE, TN (Nov. 7, 2019) – Thank you to everyone who showed up for this campaign. Thank you for the long hours of canvassing and phone banking, for sharing our message of #KnoxvilleForAll with your networks, friends, and family, and for participating in local politics through and beyond casting a ballot. And thank you to all of our endorsing organizations and your members for believing in us and putting in hours and efforts to get out the vote!
Thank you to City Council Movement candidates Amelia Parker (our new councilwoman) and Charles Al-Bawi for standing up for a Knoxville for All with our campaign. We also want to congratulate Charles Lomax and his team for his great work and contributions to this election cycle.
Amelia, Charles, and David all made history as Black candidates running for At-Large city council seats that have historically been held by establishment and status quo candidates from West Knoxville. Amelia’s win is the first Black candidate elected to an at-Large Seat in Knoxville – this is HUGE!
Although the hours were long, we loved our time on the campaign trail connecting with people, learning about the challenges and opportunities of our many neighbors, and taking the issues of equity, poverty, and environmental justice to the forefront of this election through our vision of #KnoxvilleForAll.
This may not be the outcome that we wanted, but it is undeniable that we have built a strong movement in Knoxville that will continue to pursue equity, democracy, and human rights for ALL people in our community. And this movement will continue to grow as we plan our next steps. Thank you for being on this journey with us – and stay tuned for what’s next!
It’s time that Knoxville worked for everyone. Let’s continue this work!