KNS: Knox Ethics Committee wants more power to investigate complaints

Some members of the Knox County Ethics Committee want more power to investigate complaints against county employees and elected officials.

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"A citizen doesn't have power to conduct an investigation and neither do we," committee member Mike Duncan said. "We need an ethics committee with some teeth."

Blount isn't the only county struggling to figure out how this is supposed to work. The state should probably step up and make some minor repairs to the newly enacted ethics laws.

Commission chairman, Dr. Bob Ramsey is announcing his bid for the Tennessee House of Representatives seat being vacated by Doug Overbey. Here's what Ramsey says he plans to do for us:

"If elected, I will try to support the moral and ethical principles of Blount County citizens, our educational system, the protection of the physical and economic well-being of our citizens, the equitable and efficient responsibility for revenues, law and order and the protection of our natural surroundings."

His quote rings hollow. Chairman Ramsey, what have you done for us lately? Ramsey, like many of his mild-mannered Republicans, have allowed the thug-Republicans to rule. Rather than purging the party of the elected officials he KNOWS are sinister souls, he's done NOTHING. He's looked the other way while citizens have been followed home, harassed and intimidated. He's turned a blind eye to conflicts of interest. He's never taken elected officials to task over questionable expenditures.

If he can't represent us here at home, there's no reason for us to believe he will do justice to the job in Nashville.

...because the more he says the WORSE he looks!

The latest from Blount Mayor Jerry Cunningham responding to the ethics complaint against him:

"Not just to get it resolved, but to save the expense and keep the cave people, the citizens against virtually everything, from fussing about whoever (reviews the complaint)," he said. "Sometime before I retire, I hope I hear one of the cave people say one good thing about Blount County. Just one."

Here's a great idea, Jerry. Do the ENTIRE county a favor and retire now. Your credibility is shot. Seriously, even fellow lawyers are mortified at the sheer idiocy that comes out of Cunningham's mouth.

Will attempt to live blog...

Still discussing procedural issues regarding the types of ethics complaints the committee will handle, and whether they should be referred to the County Mayor's attorney for legal review before spending time investigating.

Action: Committee will not limit the scope of the type of ethics complaints it will hear, but will make the forms and procedures consistent. The committee also decided to refer all complaints to the County Mayor's attorney for legal review.

Once that decision was made, there was no further business because the ethics complaints against the Mayor must first be referred to the County Mayor's office for legal review.

The end.

The Maryville Daily Times asked local elected officials for their thoughts on weakening the state's Open Meetings Act. The article is not online, but it's on the front page of Friday's paper. The responses are interesting.

Wendy Pitts Reeves responds to the conflict of interest controversy at her blog. Here's an excerpt:

I will be resigning from the Highlands' Blount County provider panel this week. I have been reluctant to do so previously out of concern for how that might affect the handful of clients I currently see under that plan. However, I'll make sure they receive the care they need either way. This loss of income on my part is not really necessary, as I do not have any conflict of interest with the county (we've never voted on any contract with an insurance company for medical/mental health benefits; I do not receive any funds from Highlands Health Partnership; I have no control over what provider list they choose to use or, for that matter, who employees choose to use for their mental health care). Still, I don't want any of you to worry and I'm trying to keep things as simple and clear cut as possible.

Many of you may remember that I resigned from the Human Resource and Insurance Committee back at the start of this year, just in case I could some day have a conflict.

She will also be submitting the issue to the Ethics Committee since, as she notes, no one else has. And she will be recusing herself from the discussion, since it involves her. Read her statement at her blog.

From what is known so far, it appears that Commissioner Reeves has been aboveboard and acted with the utmost integrity throughout all of this, unlike some of her detractors. It seems like we need more of the former and less of the latter in local government.

Hats off to the Daily Times for having the gumption to report the facts on this situation! Great job Rick Laney!

Immigrant: Judge told me to go home

Link...

“The judge shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t care — then he told me to go back to Nicaragua.

Read the whole thing and go buy the paper in case they get pressured to pull this article too! Last night I was able to veiw the breaking news on this thanks to BV's news-o-rama news aggregator. While I could view it via that link it could not be found on the DT's webpages by simply browsing.

Update for additional reporting by WVLT Link...

UppUppDate over on DailyKos Link...