Gov. Lee's national profile will rise in 2024, but he won't answer the Trump question | Ashe

Gov. Bill Lee was elected Nov. 16 as vice chair of the Republican Governors Association for the 2023 cycle. Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa was elected chair.

As vice chair, Lee will become chair of the association for the 2024 cycle, when 11 governors will be up for election, including eight Republicans. Lee's term as Tennessee's governor goes to January 2027.

When Lee becomes chair of the GOP governors association in 2024, he will have a national platform to express his views during the 2024 presidential election. He might even be considered to be a vice presidential running mate for the ultimate GOP nominee.

Both Reynolds and Lee were endorsed for reelection this year by former President Donald Trump, although neither faced serious competition. After his selection as vice chair, Lee was asked if he supports Trump to be the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. He sidestepped the question by saying it was good to have different choices for Republican voters without saying who he backed.

Trump was painfully unsuccessful in pushing several of his candidates for governor to victory last month in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Every single Trump-backed Republican lost.

Missiles that killed 2 in Poland landed near Knoxville's sister city

The two missiles from Ukraine that fell on Poland in November had a tie to Knoxville. They landed just 10 miles from a home owned by Knoxville allergist Marek Pienkowski, former honorary consul general for Poland in East Tennessee. One of the two missiles exploded and killed two innocent Polish citizens.

A Knoxville physician owns a home just 10 miles from the spot two missiles fell on Polish territory in November. Defense officials say the missiles were fired by Ukraine to shoot down incoming Russian missiles. At the time, there was concern the missiles were Russian ones fired purposefully or in error at Poland, our NATO ally.

They fell just 4 miles inside Poland near the village of Przewodow, which is near Chelm, a sister city of Knoxville. Pienkowski's home is between Chelm and the Ukrainian border. Pienkowski's son, Mark, is an attorney in Knoxville. Marek Pienkowski was instrumental in establishing sister city ties with Knoxville.

Tennessee Supreme Court nearing total flip

Justice Sharon Lee says her resignation from the state Supreme Court will take effect Aug. 31, 2023, not in the spring. This will likely produce an all-Republican court. Twenty years ago, it was an all-Democratic court. The replacement is required to be an East Tennessean. There are currently no Black jurists serving on the court.

The most recent appointment to the state Supreme Court is Sarah Campbell, whose views are considered in synch with those of conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. She once clerked for Alito. She was confirmed by the legislature with only Knoxville's State Rep. Gloria Johnson voting no. Johnson said she voted against Campbell because she believed Campbell was against abortion rights.

A nominating commission will submit three names to replace Justice Lee and Gov. Lee will pick one for the legislature to confirm. This process will likely run to late spring.

Of note

A public meeting to develop an Urban Forest Master Plan will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Civic Coliseum.

The Harvey Broome Chapter of the Sierra Club celebrated its 50th anniversary with a potluck dinner at the Unitarian Church on Dec. 13. Will Skelton, local greenway advocate, was at the first meeting and was to be at this golden anniversary. The chapter has been consistent in its advocacy of sound environmental stewardship. Jerry Thornton is current leader.

Knoxville lost a good friend and active citizen when Julie Webb, 96, died in early November. She had moved to Nashville only a few days earlier to be near her daughters but had a stroke. She was the widow of Robert Webb, who founded Webb School of Knoxville. Always engaged and involved, she pursued her interests with zeal and friendship.

Birthdays

Dec. 15: Brian Pittman is 57. John Allen is 69. Dawn Ford is 78. Christine Cruz is 55. John K. Alpers is 60. Former Sheriff J. J. Jones is 64.

Dec. 16: Brent Watson is 67. Architect David Collins is 66. Mary Kay Sullivan is 80. Valeta Norris is 60.

Dec. 17: Clayton Christenberry Jr. is 81. Pope Francis is 86. Anna Toon is 39. Beverly Ritchie Gill is 84. Former State Rep. Martin Daniel is 66. John W. McCallie Jr. is 76. Mary Chris Testerman is 64.

Dec. 18: Former UT dean Mike Wirth is 71. Ken Creed is 82. Mary English is 78. Garrett Holt is 29. Vivian Shipe is 67. Archie Ellis is 71.

Dec. 19: Josie Hylton is 91. Dr. Mark Overholt is 58. Jenny Boyd, wife of UT President Randy Boyd, is 65. Pye Conway is 85. Ryan Wilusz is 28. Eric Dawson is 49. Vickie Dowling Duncan is 74. John Verdeaux is 43. UT Spanish professor Nina Cruz, wife of UT Spanish professor Greg Kaplan, is 54. Bob Kesling is 69. Mitch McCampbell, retired executive creative director of Tombras, is 70. Richard J. Levenson is 71.

Dec. 20: Sheriff Tom Spangler is 64.

Dec. 21: Hansen Sale is 25. Brad Anders is 50. Actress Jane Fonda is 85. John L. Billings is 43. Jim Cortese is 69. Heidi Barcus is 57.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He can be reached at vhashe@aol.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lee's national profile will rise in 2024, but Trump question remains