TennesseeTicket.com

Chamber of Commerce Questionnaires Posted
Click here for a link to the Chamber's page of candidates and their questionnaire answers. There's some interesting reading there.

Poll Results
Yesterday's Chattanooga Times Free Press published the results of a survey by Mason-Dixon in which Ann Coulter holds a slight lead over Ron Littlefield (27% to 23%), Dan Johnson holds third with 14%, and 32% remained undecided at survey time (Feb 15-16). This poll was of 625 likely Chattanooga voters, MOE is +/- 4.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 6:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 18, 2005

Mayoral Melodrama on River Street

Sure enough, it felt just like sitting down to see a show in a theater -- in Chattanooga. This particular show could perhaps be described as a kind of Variety Act. Its major thematic driver was a race for the Mayor's office in a medium-sized Southern city (that defies its census definition and lives more like a big small Southern town). The cast of seven walked on stage after a brief introduction. The minimalist set was charming and included jarringly lifelike detail, down to the church-dinner paper that draped the tables and the big wooden box with red, yellow and green standard-size light bulbs on top that served as a visual timer for the candidate characters. The sound effects -- crackling microphones, humming feedback, lopsided levels -- perfected the ambience.

The Emcee was so good I thought he should be on tv, and not just doing these little postmodern melodramas as a volunteer.

The six candidate characters were Ron Littlefield and Ann Coulter as the Two Most Popular Candidates for Class President; Robert "Buzzy" Hamilton as the Philosopher; Angela Clark as Ms. Prim; and the outrageous comedy duo of Dan Johnson and Eddie Eubanks (these guys should go on the road).

The plot twist in this play about a modified-town-hall-style candidate forum was that all the questions had to be related to The Arts. This was revealed early on in the action, and made for an interesting introspection that self-examined itself and babbled permuted versions of itself in various distortions and re-phrasings.

The cast made a brave stand against this confusing tangle. They used a team approach: for example, in opening statements Eddie Eubanks had 'em laughing while Dan Johnson, ever the straight man, promised more Police Officers in the streets.

The Two Most Popular Candidates kept themselves a safe distance from The Arts throughout the show, which was quite a feat, given the limitation on topics. Ann Coulter has "only recently understood the power of" The Arts, and Ron Littlefield attends events occasionally, plus he put up with having a son who is a drummer. If I had to call one the winner of this contest, though, it would be Littlefield, as Coulter caved later in the program and was quite conversant at times about the importance of keeping The Arts alive in the City.

The best comedic moments were by Eubanks who, in a twice-removed aside to the audience on the convoluted nature of the questioning, promised that his answer would be nothing more than "the same soup warmed over;" and Johnson who, when asked if he would support nude sculpture as public art in the City, said that he had no problem with nude sculpture, and went on to quip to the questioner, "you got one handy?" Some might argue that that was topped by Eubanks' volley return of "Chattanooga is supposed to be the Bible Belt of the South." That one was just too surreal for me, though, and left an acid taste.

Ms. Prim would not have us have any of that nude sculpture, however, and she cheerfully chided the entire proceedings for forgetting that there are Kids around the City and that they should not be given such exposure to (or is it by?) The Arts. Ironically, a consistent theme from this character was more youth involvement in The Arts.

The Philosopher kept gently veering back to how everything would be so different if we all amended our belief systems with a New Management Paradigm. They should have given him a few more lines, because there was potential there to mix his cerebral headiness with the earthiness of Eubanks and set them both against Johnson's coy straight send-up for a hilarious triple-whammy.

The obvious dramatic climax would have been a sort of showdown between the Two Most Popular Candidates, but this show's clever director waited until near the end, and suddenly a question arose from the audience that was directed to Dan Johnson and was about Gay Marriage, and which the Emcee artfully wrestled back to the seats because it did not fall within the topic (The Arts).

The touching, human, highlight of this show was when each candidate was asked to specify how s/he is personally involved in The Arts. We discovered that most of them participate directly (or did at one time) in music or visual arts -- heck, there would have been almost a whole band onstage if they had all brought their instruments. (Hey, where's Dalton Roberts?) The crowd also got to learn of Eddie Eubanks' fascination with cave paintings and ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

My favorite question from the Audience was from a woman who wanted to know what each candidate would do to really connect The Arts with economic growth in the City, and to basically ensure that Artists are able to make living wages from applying their creativity, as downtown beautification alone is not enough.

Sadly, the show's one flaw was that not one of the candidates could muster a coherent answer to this question (though to be fair, I don't think all the performers were given coherence as a stage direction). Ann Coulter did later say that all of the elements are already here in the City for The Arts to truly permeate our community -- the gorgeous backdrop of natural scenery (this aspect was echoed by Littlefield, though he referred to it as a gift from God), the current and planned architectural embellishments and other design elements, the budding public-private partnerships; and that the right Mayor could lead us into the next phase where our neighborhoods reflect our pride in them through our artistic output.

All in all, it was a great program, and since it was free I am astonished and dismayed that the theater was only a quarter or so filled.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 10:49 AM | TrackBack

Senate 2006 Update

Conservative Republicans are really afraid of Bob Corker, but now that Van Hilleary is cashing in on his wide name recognition (from his 2002 unsuccessful run for Governor) and is joining the race, the crowded field may score Corker an easy primary win, since conservatives would have to rally behind one candidate early in order to beat him. And since Corker has the definitive funding lead, he may be able to outflank even a concerted effort.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are facing a smaller slate for their primary: so far, Congressman Harold "(not John)" Ford has declared and State Senator Rosalind Kurita is positioning.

Hopefully this weekend I'll get this site's candidate pages filled in with all the good detail. Thanks go to HobbsOnline for most of my links above.

Posted by joe lance in Bob Corker for Senate | Elections at 10:31 AM | TrackBack

February 17, 2005

A Little (Political) Theater

If your schedule allows, please come to the Allied Arts mayoral candidate forum tonight at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. If you can't make it, I will be posting my take on it here, sometime afterward. (In a perfect world, I'd blog live from the event with a nice new PowerBook someone gave me. Since we're in this world, no one has given me that PowerBook, though surely you are merely waiting for the G5 to be released.) The forum begins at 7:00, and doors open at 6.

Given the wave of endorsements and apparent popular support for Ann Coulter, and given that "the Allied Arts and Theatre Centre crowd" (hey, I'm just tangentially related enough to be able to use such a phrase in a loving, familial way) is arguably stacked with progressives, it will be interesting to see how much this constitutes a political forum and how much it may really amount to a love-fest for one candidate and polite tolerance of the rest.

Come on by, or check back here to find out.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 1:11 PM | TrackBack

February 16, 2005

Pulse Picks, Curtis Circus, and More

Chattanooga's premier alternative weekly, the Pulse, endorsed Ann Coulter for Mayor today in a well-reasoned editorial. Better yet is the rundown of pros and cons each mayoral candidate embodies found here.

Your voting booth could be moving if some lawmakers have their way, according to this post. I agree with Adam Groves' assessment that this is a disturbing possibility, but you may feel otherwise after reading of it for yourself. (Note: free registration required to read the article that he has linked.)

Local Commissioner/Superhero (if you ask the GOP) gets his fifteen minutes of fame, as if the embarrassing 10 Commandments episode, the petty spats with the Superintendent of Education, the petty spats with fellow Commissioner Cotton, and the public denigration of his own district's schools weren't enough. I'm interested in hearing from Republicans who are not as much welcoming Adams as trying to send him back. I've already heard from one.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 12:53 PM | TrackBack

February 15, 2005

Mid-Month Check-in

Well, since there are only so many hours a day available for blogging to this new Dad and full-time office employee, and since I've been busy expanding this site to meet a crucial component of its central purpose (the candidates pages), I've no real news update to post here at the moment. For today, please peruse the sites I have listed to the right. There are some really good posts out there.

We all know that there are plenty of local political goings-on about which much could be written. I'll catch up to them when I can. (Maybe some dust will settle in this whole Coulter-Littlefield brouhaha in the meantime?)

I will also be posting this blog's recommendations for all Chattanooga Municipal elections before election day (March 1). I will post blatantly opinionated electoral items like that only very close to the associated election, in the interest of treating all candidates and/or ballot initiatives equally in terms of day-to-day coverage.

This should count as full disclosure that the line between objective reporting and commentary is fuzzy, at best, on this blog. Put another way: I'll call 'em like I see 'em, but only after I've rounded 'em all up and looked each one up and down real close-like first.

Posted by joe lance in Miscellaneous at 12:43 PM | TrackBack

February 13, 2005

Local Politics Raise Eyebrows in Neighboring Metros

Curtis Adams officially switched his party affiliation. That's not huge news, but it apparently helps to perpetuate our city's reputation for "wacky" politics. I am of the nearly-neutral opinion that it does not matter what label a politician uses, and that what matters is the sum of his or her official action; but partisans of all types naturally feel that if a politician explicitly misrepresents a party's core constituency, that person needs to find a more suitable label.

Adams, who has held office as a Democrat for nearly two decades, plans to ask to be re-elected to the Commission as a member of the Republican Party. This may work against him in the long run,

as it gives his District 8 opposition an advantage in their effort to engineer his defeat. If he had remained a Democrat, I'm guessing they would have had to have fielded and promoted a candidate who could have defeated him in the primary, which will be early in May 2006; or they would otherwise have had to have backed a Republican candidate (one who would, it's safe to say, have offered much less of a distinction). Now they have until the County General Election, when there is much more public focus on politics (there will be at least one exciting statewide race drawing voters to the August primaries).

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 11:52 AM | TrackBack

February 11, 2005

Bredesen's Woes

Has Governor Phil Bredesen angered his own party enough for them to mount a primary challenge in 2006? Could his competition be stronger in the primary than in the general election? Here's a conservative person who thinks so.

A couple of under-satisfied Knoxville Democrats are mentioned late in this WSJ article, which mainly talks up Bredesen as a potentially powerful contender for President in 2008, and which I found here.

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 12:07 PM | TrackBack

Not Worth the Paper

The last time Tennessee voters amended the State Constitution (well, there were two amendments, but one that got the most attention), a primary intent was to provide additional state funding for educational purposes. It appears that a new referendum will be on its way to a ballot near you after the House [likely] passes the "gay marriage ban" bill by a 2/3 margin. This time, legislators (granted, by way of myriad constituents) are seeking to amend the Constitution -- and to place with that all of the costs associated with years of legislative and electoral activity -- where the result would include no fiscal improvement, and no foreseeable benefit to any Tennesseean. It would not expand or enhance any individual liberty, nor would it define our civic makeup (er, that's synonymous with "constitution") any further.

Um, tell me again why we are doing this?

Posted by joe lance in Government at 10:26 AM | TrackBack

February 10, 2005

Local Democrats, Speak Up:______

Do Democrats in this "red state" embrace the imminence of Howard Dean's chairmanship? Or are they/you more likely to think like the South Dakotans referred to here?

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 9:17 PM | TrackBack

New County Commission Member

The Chattanoogan reports that Greg Beck has been voted in by 6 members of the Hamilton County Commission. Two Commissioners opposed. Mr. Beck will replace outgoing Commissioner JoAnne Favors, who won election to the 29th District of the Tennessee House of Representatives last year.

As reported, a community committee had been formed in District 5 and had recommended Joe Rowe. Mr. Rowe received the other 2 votes today, from Commissioners Richard Casavant and William Cotton.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 12:54 PM | TrackBack

February 9, 2005

Corker's Senate Race Funding Disclosed

Blogger Adam Groves calls specific attention to one donor in particular, and has a link to the Chattanooga Times Free Press article where the funding disclosure is detailed.

There appears to be quite a broad base of support shown for Mayor Corker in this lineup -- broad in the political-stripes sense, that is, but typically narrow in economic class (so far).

Posted by joe lance in Bob Corker for Senate | Elections at 3:47 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Election Commission Website (slightly) Improved

I have periodically written in public opinion forums about the drastic reduction of information available on the Hamilton County Election Commission's web site. This reduction began taking place after the Administrator position changed hands from Carolyn Jackson to Fran Dzik. I was informed by a member of Fran Dzik's staff that some inaccurate information had been discovered in the site's contents, and that the site was being taken down until that situation was corrected. (I do not believe that my suggestion -- to only remove and replace the innacurate portion, but to leave all accurate material posted -- was taken to heart.)

As of sometime in 2004, the site was placed back online, and it has apparently undergone more recent changes. There is still nothing close to the amount of information that was once available for use by voters, candidates, and campaign organizers, but one important detail that has been re-included (and for which I want to publicly thank the Commission) is the sample ballot. If you know your precinct, you can click on its name and see a facsimile of the ballot you will use on March 1.

I do wonder what drove the decision to use the scanned-images-to-pdf format found there, instead of simple html that would present much less of a downloading headache (I'm sitting on at least a T1 and it's abominably slow). I suppose if I asked, I would be informed that it was a matter of time and resources, like so many other things, but at least the information is there if one is patient enough to wait for it.

Again, I thank the Commission's administration and staff for placing at least this much data at our community fingertips. May we continue to see further improvements in the quality and depth of this valuable resource.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 2:38 PM | TrackBack

Early Voting Begins Today

While I can personally think of several detractors to the practice of Early Voting, I would be remiss in my self-assumed role as a co-contributor to community civic information if I did not echo the status of this event. Click here to find the official locations and schedules.

If you are interested in discussing the pros and cons of Early Voting, click here to read a background piece (written in the context of the 2004 Federal elections) that may help generate your own opinions.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 12:27 PM | TrackBack

February 7, 2005

A Day Late for the Super Bowl...

...I guess I dropped the ball, as the saying goes. At 9:05pm I read that there will be a mayoral candidates' forum at 6pm. Maybe I didn't even catch the ball. I'm not much of a ball player.

I guess there's a bright spot in this, in that I found the above info on a City Council District 7 candidate's site that I think is worth checking out, as a reference, especially if you are in the 7th district (there is a map with descriptions of all included areas). There is a form which will submit whatever questions the page's content might raise.

To those who went: Share your experience of the mayoral candidates' forum.

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 9:22 PM | TrackBack

Senate Race Suddenly "On Its Head"

This past weekend saw the announcement that Van Hilleary has a wide lead in a poll regarding the GOP nominee for US Senate in 2006. You can read a reasonable accounting of that here. This does not sound surprising, except for the fact that until now -- and even now, officially -- Van Hilleary's name has not been mentioned whatsoever for this contest. Suddenly the person who's not even running has a huge lead in a poll of some 400 "likely GOP voters." As response to a recent inquiry to the Tennessee GOP as to declared or likely candidates, the state party's political director provided three names, none of which was Hilleary's.

I doubt, though, that one would have had this poll commissioned "just for kicks."

Has the state party leadership chosen Hilleary? Does his role as National Committeeman point to the idea that this decision may have come (or at least been influenced) from outside the state?

The upshot for Chattanoogans is that their local favorite for the Senate spot, Mayor Corker, will need to act quickly to overcome any negative perceptions this announcement may create.

What will be the reaction of former party chair Beth Harwell? Ed Bryant says that he's in for sure, according to Sunday's Times Free Press article, and that the contest is really between himself and former Congressman Hilleary. The poll results do seem to corroborate that assessment, but it is early yet, and the fundraising is (if I may editorialize: sadly) what weighs the most in the end, in a great many cases.

I posted before completing: Bill Hobbs has some good analysis of this race today as well.

Posted by joe lance in Bob Corker for Senate | Elections at 12:56 PM | TrackBack

February 6, 2005

I Got Polled!

I received a phone call Saturday evening from a research firm who was polling on the upcoming Mayoral election. It was interesting to hear the nature and tone of some of the questions. (My favorites: "Do you have an Extremely Favorable/Very Favorable/Somewhat Favorable/Not Favorable opinion of former Mayor Jon Kinsey?" and "Do you have an Extremely Favorable/Very Favorable/Somewhat Favorable/Not Favorable opinion of former [was it Chief of Staff?] Ken Hays?") What? Is Hays in the running? Why does one's opinion of Kinsey's term matter in the 2005 election?

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 11:17 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

February 4, 2005

New Energy Industry Locating in Chattanooga

A news item in the Chattanoogan.com: Aerisyn LLC plans to convert the former Combustion Engineering site into a new wind turbine tower manufacturing facility. (More information can be found at this site.)

Technically, wind energy is not new. It has existed since there was wind, and many other systems have been developed to harness it for one purpose or another. The marriage of wind-harvest to the wide distribution of electric power is somewhat new, however.

Anyone who has driven between Barstow and Bakersfield in the last couple of decades has likely seen the "forests" of wind turbine towers lining the stark landscape. (I always wonder at seeing all the turbines turned one way, with a stiff wind blowing from that direction, yet only some of the props are spinning.) In contrast to California's numbers, TVA operates three turbines in this state, and fifteen more are on their way to being installed.

The supply ratio indicated on TVA's wind power faq is 1 turbine (at Buffalo Mountain) to about 100 typical households. Eighteen turbines would mean power for a few thousand of Tennessee's nearly 6 million citizens.

It remains to be seen whether TVA will be among those purchasing some 200 new towers expected in the first year of production at the Riverside Parkway plant.

That new jobs are intended at the facility is encouraging news to a metro area where thousands are unemployed. This could be a step in the direction so often talked about as desired in our area, which is toward an ample supply of high-tech, low-impact and good-paying jobs. It may be a small-ish step at 75-150 positions in three years, but we'll take it. Won't we? I'm interested in diverse viewpoints. If we all agree on that, what about the idea of installing a few more of these thingys around the state, and cutting back a little on the burning coal? Wait, not looking for a fight. Just tossing out ideas.

Posted by joe lance in Community at 9:49 PM | TrackBack

Who Is Behind This Civic Forum Blog

Josiah over at Irresponsible Journalism placed an unexpected but welcome plug for this site onto his, and at the same time raised the question of who the person running it is.

Let me just first say that it was only an effort to get the Forum up and running, as well as a decided lack of interest in self-promotion, that caused me to forego kicking the whole thing off with a personal introduction. I have no problem with laying all the cards on the table, though, so click below to read the whole story (it's the short version, I promise -- I won't go into past lives or recount individual dental appointments).

Once upon a time in late 1999, a young-ish man wanted to learn more than what the Tom Brokaws and Aaron Browns of the world were telling him about the upcoming 2000 elections in the United States. He started searching the internet for other options, and somehow stumbled across a then-little-known site called Politics1.com. This site was (and is) an amazing repository of candidates, parties, and links to both. His first focus was on the "P2000" page, because there were listed all of the verified and rumored candidates for President, including some from political parties of which he had never heard. He learned more about Greens and Libertarians and the Reform Party (all 2 of them, in 2000) than he had ever had the chance to know, too.

The treasure trove lay just around the corner, though, in the site's State pages. Here were candidates for all of the statewide offices and each congressional district. Here were links to all political parties who had internet operations in that state; and lo, a political junkie was born upon the onset of that initial rush.

In early 2004, the already-addictive Politics1.com site underwent a transformation and became a blog on its front page. Each of the blogs' comments listings was rich with links, poll numbers, and impassioned commentary from just about all points on the political landscape. Though the webmaster has since announced a leave of absence, people still go there regularly to discuss politics.

The young-ish man began dreaming of a similar site that would simply scale back to a single state (Tennessee) but then be able to delve more deeply into the state legislative districts and county/city politics. That itself would be a huge undertaking, so the first step is a blog dedicated solely to Chattanooga's and Hamilton County's political -- and those that are less electoral, more civic -- issues, with a few trips up to the statewide level since, after all, we will be electing a Governor, a Senator, and many other officials next year.

This man's name is Joe Lance, and he has lived, studied and worked in and around Chattanooga since 1989, with a couple of brief intermissions to Maryland and Michigan. I (switching to 1st person now, hope that's cool) hope to be able to provide area citizens useful information and an easy, fun way to discuss it -- no matter one's political "stripes." Eventually it would be nice to expand to an all-Tennessee political encyclopedia and a more muscular, cutting-edge weblog. I encourage suggestions from readers and from experienced bloggers in this regard as well as some pertaining to the site as it currently exists.

There's the story so far, and now let's see how it develops. Thank you for visiting, and please come back often!

Joe

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 1:01 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

February 3, 2005

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Walter Williams?

Former Chattanooga City Judge Walter Williams is so upset with Mayor Bob Corker over some local business dealings that he has threatened to use the forces of e-mail to try and derail Mr. Corker's 2006 US Senate campaign. Read all about it in the Chattanoogan.com. He also wants Corker to appear with him in a public debate over the issue.

Perhaps it is just me, but I would tend to think that if Bob Corker is going to publicly debate anyone any time soon, the other debaters would be some other candidates in the 2006 Senate race. I do look forward to that happening, but I don't expect Walter Williams to be in the lineup, since, as far as I know, he is not running for Senate.

I understand that when an elected official is engaged in wrongdoing, citizens must stand up and oppose that official according to the magnitude of the offense. In this case, however, a) no wrongdoing has been established, b) the position being opposed is not the currently held one but one being sought, and c) a better outcome usually results when, instead of campaigning bitterly against one of the contenders, a person either offers himself or another as a viable alternative to that candidate. Walter Williams should consider these items.

Besides, is his statewide influence great enough to sway a significant group of voters against Corker? Remember, the first round that Corker must get through is one where all the Republicans are voting (the 2006 primary). I imagine that more than a few Chattanooga Democrats may vote in the GOP primary to support their well-liked Mayor, but I doubt that very many would do so in order to try and sabotage him.

Let your private grievances, stern and real as they may be, remain between you and your foe; and if you do have information that would indicate that Bob Corker would not make an effective Senator from Tennessee, say so by pointing to whom you would rather see in the position, not just by decrying Corker.

Posted by joe lance in Politics is Personal at 3:36 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Heat is turned up in Mayoral campaign

The flames of rhetoric are being fanned (how many times have we heard and used that tired metaphor?). Ron Littlefield's campaign is making remarks about Ann Coulter's nonexistent voting history as it pertains to municipal elections. Coulter's response (same article) seems to be "never mind about this being my first city election, I'm here to use my experience and know-how on this city anyway."

What is a voter to believe? I remain undecided, and I think that points to the fact that there is a good campaign being put on. Usually I have begrudgingly determined to get behind one lunk or another by this point, but in this one I am truly energetic about finding the best choice.

On another note, there have been and will be good forums held by various organizations, but a fellow blogger and I are putting together a plan to conduct and post some blogger interviews (bloggerviews), with the intent of rounding out the information choices for Chattanoogans with regard to this election. I would also like to do the same thing for the City Council elections, since I see almost nothing substantial written about them. Stay tuned to this blog (and smijer's) for further info. (Will update this post with his link later today, can't locate it using this pc.)

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 2:58 PM | TrackBack

February 2, 2005

Mayoral Forum on NewsChannel9

I did not get to watch the forum, but I enjoyed the commentary provided by Bill Colrus on his NewsPinion blog.

Posted by joe lance in Elections at 1:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack