50,000+ community members unrepresented for weeks after Knox County commissioner goes MIA

More than 50,000 Knox County residents have been without their community's voice in local government for more than six weeks.

The reason?

Their county commissioner has stopped attending meetings.

District 4 Commissioner Kyle Ward hasn't been at a regular or special meeting since the county commission met Sept. 1 to select a new chair and committee assignments, a Knox News review of regular and special meetings posted to the county's website revealed.

He's been a no-show at beer board meetings. At work sessions. And at the regular meetings where critical decisions are made.

That's at least eight missed meetings, including the Oct. 16 presentation about options for a new contract for ambulance service a week after Knox News reported that county residents can't be assured EMTs will show up on time or at all if called for a medical emergency.

The 4th District includes the Bearden, Rocky Hill, Sequoyah Hills and West Hills neighborhoods. Ward was elected in 2020 and is not seeking reelection.

Ward did not respond to a text message and email from Knox News, sent Oct. 17, asking him why he was not attending meetings.

The timing of Ward's absences is notable. Just five days before the first in this series of meetings Ward has missed, the county ethics committee considered whether to investigate a claim that he violated the county ethics code.

The committee voted to table discussion of the claim until Nov. 8. Since then, a complaint to the state comptroller's office has been filed alleging Ward made a property purchase well below market value, then secured support for a variance on construction from a county Board of Zoning Appeals member he had appointed.

It's not uncommon for commissioners to miss meetings every once in a while, but Ward's string of absences raises concerns. In addition to missing the ambulance service presentation, he has left open a vacancy from his district to the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals, keeping that seat open since Sept. 30.

Garrett Holt, the former Board of Zoning Appeals representative from District 4, vacated the seat when he decided to run for Ward's seat. Ward has donated to his campaign, and Holt also is named in the ethics complaint against Ward.

Ethics complaint involves Ward, Holt and a property developer

In a complaint filed by Knox County resident Michael Casstevens in July, Ward is accused of paying just $10 each to developer Scott Davis for two plots of land assessed at $50,000 apiece.

Ward and Davis say Ward intends to build a home on the land in the Harrison Springs subdivision near Hardin Valley, which he would then sell. Ward would pay back the value of the land from the sale and keep the rest.

Casstevens added to his complaint Sept. 8, saying Ward and Davis colluded with Holt in his capacity as a member of the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals. Ward sought an exemption to build the home, but two residents and a member of the subdivision’s homeowners association spoke against it.

Holt moved to grant Ward’s request, which Ward later withdrew. According to Davis, Ward can still build a home on that land; it would just be more difficult for him to do so without the variance.

Davis, like Ward, has donated money to Holt’s campaign.

The county's ethics code says that an official has to disclose any "personal interest" in voting and nonvoting matters that influences their vote.

The complaint alleges that neither Ward nor Holt properly disclosed their interests.

Ward and Davis' contributions to Holt's campaign and Holt's failure to recuse himself from the appeals board vote are "obvious problems," Michael Covington, chair of the ethics committee, told Knox News on Sept. 12.

Some members of the ethics committee, including real estate agent Kathryne Ogrod, said the deal is a normal business transaction between a builder and developer.

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her at allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @allie.feinberg.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Commissioner Kyle Ward misses weeks of meetings