Knox County Commission... can it be changed?

[John Spellings]

Well my hope is yes, that's why I'm running for County Commission.

My name is John Spellings, I live in Downtown Knoxville and I'm getting tired of all the... stuff, that we have been put through in the past two years.

I am a young man who hopes fro nothing more than a county commission that doesn't cause a scandal every time they turn around, for improved schools in our area, for safer streets, and for an end to the use of Redlight cameras. (That last one is a personal favorite of mine)

I'm a serious candidate running as a write-in. If you'd like to know why that came about I can tell you, but it's kind of a long story.

But here's what I want to discuss, since this is a discussion forum. What is it about county commission that is broken, what works, and what needs to go away?

Feel free to ask questions, or check out my website (http://www.writeinspellings.com). I have a rolling blog with platform issues that you can read as well. I love our little city and know that with the right leadership it can be even better.

So lets get talking.

[Tennessee Jed]

It would be nice if a candidate like yourself could get elected. Welcome to the blab!

I think many Knoxvillians perceived the wheel tax bait & switch swindle and term limit-sunshine-appointment debacle as small town politics taking a lead from state and national corruption.

I have become hyper-skeptical from being completely beat and robbed by corporate and legislative lawyers, so my faith in anyone getting elected without being in the "good old boy we love them cameras" nepotistic network is dead.

Someone please revive me.

[faybe]

John Spellings:

Why did you choose to post in the troublemakers section of threads?

I pulled up your website link but all i saw was a logo. Where is the "rolling blog" you mentioned?

[binR Bishop]

Well my hope is yes, that's why I'm running for County Commission.
....
I am a young man who hopes fro nothing more than a county commission that doesn't cause a scandal every time they turn around, for improved schools in our area, for safer streets, and for an end to the use of Redlight cameras. (That last one is a personal favorite of mine)



You do know County Commission has nothing to do with the redlight cameras? That's a City thing; if you want to do anything about them you need to run for City Council.

[Tennessee Jed]

John Spellings:

Why did you choose to post in the troublemakers section of threads?

I pulled up your website link but all i saw was a logo. Where is the "rolling blog" you mentioned?

You have to click on the pic (here you go (http://www.writeinspellings.com/main.html))

[spintrep]

John Spellings:

Why did you choose to post in the troublemakers section of threads?

My IP address must automatically filter my posts to the troublemakers side.

[Sock Puppet]

John Spellings:

Why did you choose to post in the troublemakers section of threads?

I pulled up your website link but all i saw was a logo. Where is the "rolling blog" you mentioned?


My IP address must automatically filter my posts to the troublemakers side.

Screen shot taken! Now. Should I send it to your nemesis? Muwhahaha!

[John Spellings]

I'd love to think someone who is on the outside could get elected as well but we'll just have to see what happens.

As far as the redlight cameras go, yes I know they are a city issue, but my main position as far as the county goes is that I will never support them as a law enforcement tool in the county.

They are a terribly disguised revenue raising tool.

Also, I'm not really thrilled with my current representation having been appointed by commission... again.

[rikki]

What's wrong with raising revenue from asswipes who can't stop for red lights? It's better than a damn wheel tax. The only better idea I can think of is confiscating the assets of anyone who has ever donated money to Dick Cheney and giving them honorary Afghani citizenship and a milk-jug raft for their journey across the Atlantic.

[jsmith]

The only better idea I can think of is confiscating the assets of anyone who has ever donated money to Dick Cheney...

Hmm, an angry leftist who wants to take things from people with whom he differs politically? Bah, never heard of it!

[rikki]

The only better idea I can think of is confiscating the assets of anyone who has ever donated money to Dick Cheney...

Hmm, an angry leftist who wants to take things from people with whom he differs politically? Bah, never heard of it!

Take things? I want to give them Afghani citizenship and a free raft!

Since you are humor impaired, I'll give it to you straight. This is what I want: An investigation of torture in military prisons by a prosecutor with jurisdiction over private contractors and civilian leaders and impeachment of Cheney for his role in several incidents that undermined or destroyed American intelligence assets.

[Johnny Ringo]

Take things? I want to give them Afghani citizenship and a free raft!

Since you are humor impaired, I'll give it to you straight. This is what I want: An investigation of torture in military prisons by a prosecutor with jurisdiction over private contractors and civilian leaders and impeachment of Cheney for his role in several incidents that undermined or destroyed American intelligence assets.

1366

[jsmith]

This is what I want: An investigation of torture in military prisons by a prosecutor with jurisdiction over private contractors and civilian leaders and impeachment of Cheney for his role in several incidents that undermined or destroyed American intelligence assets.

Ah, glad to see the triple pillars of leftism -projection, hyperbole, and victimhood- are alive and well.

Anybody wanna bet this guy uses his copy of the Communist Manifesto the way normal people use porn?

[faybe]

What's wrong with raising revenue from asswipes who can't stop for red lights?


not sure if you are being inflammatory on purpose or if you actually believe this but i wanted the world to know that i have no problem whatsoever with the red light cameras. People continue to break our traffic laws and only when you hit them in the pocketbook do they begin to THINK about not doing the behavior again.

I know folks think the red light cameras are just a money maker for the company that owns them but they also do bring in revenue for the city. I forgot the actual figure ..it may not be millions but it's still money in the till.

so back to Mr. Spellings .... what other ways would you find to bring in the same amount of revenue that we are now getting from the success of the red light camers?

[rikki]

not sure if you are being inflammatory on purpose or if you actually believe this but i wanted the world to know that i have no problem whatsoever with the red light cameras.

I actually believe that people who run red lights are asswipes. Maybe we should hire Cliff to patrol intersections without cameras and shoot out the tires of transgressors.

[binR Bishop]

What's wrong with raising revenue from asswipes who can't stop for red lights?

Nothing. And I say that as a person who has has been caught by the cameras.

[John Spellings]

Unfortuanately the revenues we are raising (in total around $2.5 million) are being disproportionally distributed. If the way the News Sentinel laid out the system, which I feel certain is right, in 2007 the city of Knoxville made slightly less than $1 Milllion. Hwile on the other side Redflex, the managing company made nearly$1.5 Million.

We sent all that money to a company in Arizona from people here in Knoxville, lost revenues for businesses, for savings, for taxes.

What is the money needed for (also it's city not county money so I really don't think I can say).

These cameras are a bad deal all around and i will never support them in the county.

[rikki]

We sent all that money to a company in Arizona from people here in Knoxville, lost revenues for businesses, for savings, for taxes.

No, not "people here in Knoxville," asswipes who were doing something extremely dangerous here in Knoxville. I don't care how many more Girl Scout cookies they could have bought if their recklessness had gone unpunished, but I do care that not one Girl Scout was killed in a violent collision at a Knoxville intersection in the past year.

[pages]

Unfortuanately the revenues we are raising (in total around $2.5 million) are being disproportionally distributed. If the way the News Sentinel laid out the system, which I feel certain is right, in 2007 the city of Knoxville made slightly less than $1 Milllion. Hwile on the other side Redflex, the managing company made nearly$1.5 Million.

We sent all that money to a company in Arizona from people here in Knoxville, lost revenues for businesses, for savings, for taxes.

What is the money needed for (also it's city not county money so I really don't think I can say).

These cameras are a bad deal all around and i will never support them in the county.

So you're saying that you are against the redlight cameras because the fines that people get for being wreckless, dangerous drivers could be spent in other ways? Wouldn't having people obey the traffic laws be a simple way to keep the money in the economy in what you see as more productive ways?

My knee is well on its way to being fairly useless because of an injury that I received in a car accident because someone ran a red light when when I was 12. There wasn't a red light involved but four members of my family, including both my parents, were killed in a traffic accident. I'm sure many other blabbers can recite injuries and mayhem in their life because people failed to stop at redlights or disobeyed some other traffic law.

People being what they are and mostly refusing to behave anything but badly, something has to be done to change that. I'm with Rikki, if the cameras can slow people down and make drivers obey the law, it's worth every penny because of the lives that will be saved, the injuries that will be avoided and the property damage that will be eliminated.

But maybe you think that spending on funerals, medical care and vehicle repair are good for the economy.