Posted on 06/16/2006 7:51:16 AM PDT by SmithL
They have called.
They have written.
And, boy, are they mad.
"They" are the residents of Knox County, and they haven't been shy about registering complaints about the charter fiasco that threatens to scuttle ordinances and torpedo term limits.
They've been contacting Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale's office with comments during the week since Chancellor John Weaver ripped up the county charter.
"They're angry over the charter verdict and they're angry over the term-limits issue," Ragsdale spokesman Dwight Van de Vate said.
Weaver ruled last Friday that the charter, including its term-limits provision, is incomplete and wasn't properly filed with state officials.
Some also are mad about Ragsdale's proposed solution.
In particular, Van de Vate said, they're puzzled that Ragsdale tapped three of the county commissioners who sued to jettison term limits for service on a proposed charter committee that would fix the document's flaws.
Van de Vate said his boss is bound by the charter - the same charter that Weaver ruled invalid - to appoint one commissioner from each district to serve on a charter committee.
In the 2nd District, Ragsdale had no choice. Both of that district's commissioners, David Collins and Billy Tindell, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. One of them had to serve on the committee, and that one was Collins.
Ragsdale offered the 1st District slot to Commissioner Thomas "Tank" Strickland, but he declined. So did 4th District Commissioner John Schmid.
That left term-limits plaintiffs Diane Jordan (1st District) and Phil Guthe (4th) to serve on the panel.
Van de Vate emphasized that the charter requires that a majority of the committee - 10 of its 19 members - be ordinary citizens. They, too, must be selected from each district. (The 5th District has three commissioners, so there are three 5th District committee members - one commissioner and two citizens.)
Van de Vate said Ragsdale selected citizen members based on their community involvement and after consulting with commissioners.
Ragsdale said he's confident the commissioners will put aside their political ambitions and revise the charter for the public good - including term limits.
"The repairs to the charter would have to be presented to the voters," Van de Vate said. "The public will reject any charter that doesn't include term limits."
The whole question of who should serve on the committee might wind up being irrelevant. Ragsdale formed the committee, which still needs commission approval, to revise the charter if - and only if - Weaver allows the county enough time before his ruling becomes final.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.