County Commission Today

So there are rumors abounding in regards to today's Knox County Commission meeting. I spoke with two commissioners over the weekend who think that Commissioner Pinkston may have something up his sleeve. Pinkston has certainly been the most critical of the Mayor's office.

Many will remember that the Mayor supported Pinkston's opponent (David Keiger) in the last election. Keiger was well funded, but unorganized and had no name idea. While Pinkston was sure to lock up the victory he still ran around town very paranoid and accusing everyone of working against him. Don't expect him to let up on the Mayor anytime soon. I don't really believe he'll drop anything of any importance on the meeting today. Just look for hot air and, if we're lucky, a testy exchange or two. Pinkston is funny when he's mad.

The other rumor has to do with the Mayor offering his resignation. This one is being floated by Commissioners with a beef on Ragsdale. They are just floating the rumor to keep talk going about him possibly resigning. Mark my word, this guy isn't going anywhere unless he's carried out, walked out in handcuffs, or forced out.

The real debate will center on two things: Lewis Cosby and "the Re-do". So I'll offer my predictions:

Cosby will speak during open forum. He'll lay out his case to much fanfare from a few Commissioners who will praise his work and give him a few 'atta boys'. I don't see much else coming out of this.

The "re-do" will get voted down. I'm not sure on the votes, but here is my best take:

We will see a mix of the two factions vote together. For instance, Lumpy and Pinkston will vote "no". They will be joined by Mark Harmon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good 'ole fashioned "we ain't done nothing wrong" speech from Pinkston. Scooby will also vote no, and could be the deliverer of the "we ain't done nothing wrong speech". My money is on Pinkston

I would say that Hammond and R. Larry Smith will vote yes. They will both grace us with their thoughts on restoring public trust, etc. I think both of these guys try to vote their conscience, but both are auditioning for Mayor, so keep that in mind while listening.

I think Bolus, Tramel, and Cate will all vote "yes", but you can't tell with these guys. They probably need the "public trust" points, but are at danger of not being reappointed in the event of an actual re-do. One thing to keep in mind is that the appointed commissioners have to run for election in a few months.

C. Leuthold will tack on an ammendment asking for a contingency that the N-S accept the proposal. He'll vote yes if it passes, no if it doesn't. I think his father will follow.

That's about as far as I got on guessing this one. It's harder to figure out when the factions don't agree within themselves!!