There was a big difference between snowstorm trips by Jacobs, Kincannon | Ashe

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs showed questionable political judgment during the Jan. 14-16 snow and ice storms in Knox County when he flew to Iowa to campaign for Donald Trump. Critics say he neglected his duties as mayor. County taxpayers pay him more than $175,000 a year to do his job.

Jacobs’ spokesman, Mike Donila, defended the trip, saying it was Knox County’s business to reelect Trump.

Jacobs has every right as an individual to support whomever he wants for president and to run for governor in 2026.

But government itself must be neutral on political candidates.

This raises the issue of how many days over the next three years Jacobs will spend outside Knox County if he runs for governor or works to raise his profile for a position in a Trump administration if the former president is reelected.

The assertion that he can stay in touch from Dyersburg or Memphis is weak.

Should taxpayers pay his salary when he is not here to earn it? In 2025 and 2026, how many days will he be away?

City Councilwoman Debbie Helsley pointed out that Jacobs in 2022 performed the worst of all the GOP countywide candidates, getting only 55% of the vote against her and not reaching 38% inside the city. Jacobs’ attacks on local public health officials during the COVID-19 crisis hurt him badly.

Just days after Knox News reported about Jacobs campaigning in Iowa, the news organization reported Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon left the city the day after Jacobs returned, prompting several to make a comparison to Jacobs’ trip.

She was here for the first three days of the storm. There is a difference between Jacobs' trip and hers. Kincannon went to Washington to attend the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is city business. There she met with Cabinet members and went to the White House to hear President Joe Biden.

Having served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors for one year, I can say these meetings are very helpful in networking and forming relationships with key federal leaders, such as the transportation secretary. Her attendance helped the city as opposed to a political candidate, which distinguishes it from the Jacobs trip.

Nevertheless, the optics of being away during part of the freeze did not help her. Because she is not a candidate for another term or office, she is unlikely to suffer politically for it.

The Knoxville Bar Association survey of its members on candidates for offices related to the judicial system showed 54.91% of respondents “strongly recommended” or “recommended” county Law Director David Buuck. His GOP opponent Daniel Herrera received only 9.09% in these categories.

On the other hand, 8% “strongly do NOT recommend” Buuck, while 42.55% said the same of Herrera ... a wide difference in both areas. It was a good showing for Buuck.

The Jan. 22 issue of People magazine carried a two-page article on Knoxville Rev. Chris Battle, who has moved from being the senior pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church to growing and delivering fresh produce to residents in a city neighborhood where healthy food is scarce.

Battle says in the article, “I don’t miss pastoring (30 years). I tell people I pastor okra now ... okra doesn’t give me as many problems as some people do.” Best wishes to Battle and his important work.

Many have read that former Alabama football coach Nick Saban recently purchased a $16 million home on Jupiter Island on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Saban’s home is at the south end of the Town of Jupiter Island facing the ocean. Another well-known resident of the Town of Jupiter Island is golfer Tiger Woods.

One of Saban’s next-door neighbors is one of Knoxville’s most popular couples, Sam and Ann Furrow. Furrow was the first woman to serve on the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, appointed by Gov. Winfield Dunn.

Jupiter Island is 24 miles north of West Palm Beach.

Birthdays

Feb. 8: Author John Grisham is 69.

Feb. 9: Sandi Swilley is 63. Retired firefighter Mike Pacetti is 72. Steve Cotham is 75.

Feb. 10: Samantha Bruce is 35. County Commissioner Gina Oster is 55. Attorney and former county GOP chair Lynn Tarpy is 73. Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz is 74. Dan Holbrook is 76. Umoja Abdul-Ahad is 77.

Feb. 11: Retired judge Joe Duncan is 100. Austin Davidson is 37. Felix Harris is 57. Respected attorney Mark Mamantov is 64. Jon Brock is 69. Former mental health commissioner Elisabeth Rukeyser is 80.

Feb. 12: Kendall Allen is 34. Businessman Jim Samples is 61. Jeffrey Z. Daniel is 62. Buddy Heins is 64. Ashley Capps is 69. William G. Brownlow IV is 76. Lillian Mashburn is 81.

Feb. 13: Cheryl Baxter is 42. Joel D. Roettger is 49. Tracie Sanger is 51. Attorney Samuel K. Lee is 58. Former TVA director Jeff Smith is 65. Attorney Charles Burks is 76.

Feb. 14: Greg Sherrod is 39. Dugan McLaughlin is 67. Gloria Deathridge is 71. Charlie Vogel is 76. Jim Petrone is 78. Retired district attorney Al Schmutzer is 82.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News. 

Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: There was a big contrast between snowstorm trips by Jacobs, Kincannon