Competitiveness of municipal judge race raises profile of position | Georgiana Vines

The race for Knoxville municipal judge in the nonpartisan Nov. 7 election seems to be centered on these issues:

Do voters choose longtime incumbent judge John R. Rosson Jr., who made introductions at a rally for Donald Trump when he was the Republican presidential candidate in 2015, or Tyler M. Caviness, a newcomer to the city who stayed after getting a law degree but hadn’t voted in a city election until this year?

In talking with political observers, officeholders and others, that seems to be the consensus, with one lamenting, “No one is talking about judicial issues.” The race's competitiveness, though, has raised the profile of the position, a University of Tennessee political scientist says.

Rosson, 75, hosting an election-related press conference in his courtroom two weeks ago during which he announced supporters, also raised questions about his ethics since state and municipal ethics codes for judges or city employees forbid using court staff, facilities or other resources for campaign purposes.

In the past two weeks, the Rosson campaign has sent out mailers highlighting differences between the two candidates that used information from a survey of the Knoxville Bar Association’s membership June 26-July 14 and Caviness’ voting record.

The KBA survey was done before the Aug. 29 primary when two other lawyers were also running for the position, which pays $92,000 annually. From that, Rosson’s mailer showed that 75% recommended Rosson, compared to 29% for Caviness.

The mailer, of course, does not point out that nearly 55% of those responding did not know Caviness while nearly 6% did not know Rosson. Since then, with the aggressive campaigning of the two candidates, it can be speculated a higher percentage of lawyers now know Caviness.

A photograph of Rosson at the Trump rally is interpreted by some of his opponent’s supporters as endorsing the former president, and at a recent event I attended it was brought up by a member of the audience. There also is an interpretation that Rosson introduced Trump. But Rosson is quick to point out he did not introduce Trump but did introduce three others who were participating. He said for a previous column in May the reason he attended was to get a photograph of him with Trump to add to his collection of photographs of politicians and others in his offices and at home.

As for Caviness’ voting record, he first voted in the Nov. 1, 2016, presidential election and subsequently in federal, state and county elections, with his first vote in a city election on Aug. 29.

“I can assure you I will vote in city elections in the future," he said Friday. He turned 32 on Oct. 25.

Rosson has served 36 years on the bench and has a private law practice on the side. He has a reputation for showing up at numerous community and political events. He has been endorsed by the Knox County Republican Party.

Caviness has worked in the Public Defender's Office and with law firms before having his own law firm. His wife, Christy, is an assistant district attorney for Knox County. His campaign is being managed by a well-known local Democrat, Jack Vaughan, who also is managing the campaign of City Council candidate Debbie Helsley.

Rosson is running on his record and making improvements in the court, particularly now that it has moved to a new location with police and fire departments to the former St. Mary’s Hospital location.

Caviness says the management of the office and court needs a redirection.

Anthony Nownes, a University of Tennessee political science professor, said city judge races generally are pretty far down on the list of contests that people care about, but he feels this one is bit different.

“This is an exception. There seems to be more interest and information out there. Both campaigns are out there doing more. I think the judge and a lot of his supporters and people in the community are a little surprised at the strength of the challenger,” he said.

Stressing that his observations are strictly anecdotal, “Tyler has a run a very good campaign. His surrogates and supporters are talking out there. It’s not anything against the judge. He’s been there a long time, but he’s not the youngest fellow. Tyler’s young and running on a platform of changing this,” Nownes said.

He also said the picture of Rosson with Trump and being endorsed by the Republican Party in the Knoxville community appear to be helping Caviness.

The city court primarily handles traffic citations and parking tickets but also considers violations of alcohol (non-DUI), animal control, building and zoning codes, business regulations, environmental, noise and ordinances involving personal behavior. The judge serves a four-year term.

For this election, which also includes four City Council seats, early voting continues through Thursday, Nov. 2.

∎ LAURELS FOR FRANK: Frank Gibson, a 1976 University of Tennessee journalism graduate and editor of the university’s paper, The Daily Beacon, in the 1970s, will be honored as the founding director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government on Nov. 1 in Nashville. A capacity crowd is expected at the coalition’s 20-year celebration at The Reserve at Fat Bottom Brewing Co. at 6 p.m. CST.

The Coalition, or TCOG, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency in government and helps people with public records and open meetings issues. ”Our focus is research and education because we believe knowledgeable citizens are the best way to protect the free flow of information,” its website says.

Gibson served as its first executive director from 2003 to 2011 and then became public policy director for the Tennessee Press Association until retiring in 2017. Gibson was a longtime reporter and political editor for The Tennessean in Nashville, working there 37 years. Deborah Fisher is TCOG’s current executive director.

Gibson said in an interview Thursday that he credits his work for his interest in creating TCOG with the national Society of Professional Journalists, of which he served as president in 1990-91. He helped lead SPJ’s efforts on behalf of openness in government with Project Sunshine and Project Watchdog.

He mentioned that an early landmark in openness in government in Tennessee came when TCOG trained 112 citizens and journalists to conduct a statewide audit in each of the state’s 95 counties in response to citizens requesting commonplace public records that should have been available readily. They were denied one-third of the time, so the audit results were shared widely by the coalition. A legislative study committee was created and in 2008, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the first improvements in public records laws in 25 years.

TCOG’s board includes the following from Knoxville: Dorothy Bowles, professor emerita of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, board secretary; Victor Ashe, former state legislator, Knoxville mayor and U.S. ambassador; Joel Christopher, executive editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel; Rick Hollow, with Hollow & Hollow in Knoxville, longtime counsel for the Tennessee Press Association and the News Sentinel; and Jack McElroy, former executive editor of the News Sentinel, a founding board member of TCOG and a past president of the Tennessee Press Association.

Gibson’s wife, Kathy, and other family members will attend the event. The Gibsons now live in Land O’ Lakes, Florida.

Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at gvpolitics@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Georgiana Vines: Competitiveness of judge race raises profile of job