Governor appoints man he pardoned to Inmate Disciplinary Oversight Board | Georgiana Vines

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Quantel Lindsey of Cleveland, whom he pardoned for a previous lifestyle of drugs, violence and jail time, as the East Tennessee member of a newly created Inmate Disciplinary Oversight Board.

“This is a full-time job to be on this board, and I look forward to serving the state of Tennessee,” Lindsey said in an email to this columnist. The governor’s office confirmed Lindsey had been pardoned by Lee.

The board, which is still being created, has the purpose of granting or denying inmate sentence credits for good institutional behavior and to determine whether sentence credits previously awarded should be removed for commission of a major infraction or for an inmate’s refusal to participate in an assignment.

Information on the Tennessee secretary of state’s website shows that members of the board will be paid $120,000 annually.

Lindsey’s website credits his belief in Christ as a turnaround point in his life. He said on Dec. 31, 2011, he began evangelizing. He speaks at churches and conferences. He said he is part of a Bible study called Table Church in Cleveland that meets on Mondays. In the email, he said “it’s not a paid position or have any staff pastors. All volunteer-based.”

The governor makes three appointments to the board, as do the speaker of the House and Senate speaker, who also serves as lieutenant governor. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge who represents a part of Knox County, has appointed Lee Frank, a small businessman and husband of Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, to the board.

∎ REMEMBERING A CARTER’S VISIT: The death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter on Nov. 19 brought memories to textile artist Diane Tunkel Hanson of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and formerly of Knoxville. Chip Carter, son of Rosalynn and then-President Jimmy Carter, came to visit Knoxville on their behalf in May 1979.

“I was asked to provide an official gift from the City of Knoxville and I did … a fiber piece which I did at my studio in Maplehurst Park,” Hanson said in an email to this columnist. She said then-Mayor Randy Tyree got in touch with the Knoxville Arts Council in search of a gift to send back to the White House.

She said she made the gift – a 30-by-30-inch batik framed with a silk mat. “I placed a special signature addition on top of the mat … a tassel of silk which I made in honor of the occasion … the only art piece I enhanced in this way,” Hanson said.

She said about a week after the presentation, she was in Washington, D.C., crossing the street in front of the White House. She said she “surprisingly” ran into Chip Carter.

“He stopped to chat, assuring me that the gift was indeed hanging in the White House and chatted about how much he enjoyed his visit to Knoxville,” Hanson said.

∎ BAR LEADERSHIP CHANGE: Knoxville attorney Tasha Blakney will become the next executive director of the Knoxville Bar Association in mid-January with the retirement of Marsha Watson, who held the position for 30 years and was the group’s first full-time director.

KBA President Loretta Cravens said she is excited that Blakney will be the next director. "We conducted a national search, and interviewed many great candidates, but we found the right candidate for the job right here in our community. Tasha has all the attributes we were seeking as the next executive director, and her entire professional career has prepared her to take on this role,” she said in a news release.

Cravens, a lawyer in Blakney’s firm with David Eldridge, appointed a committee headed by lawyer Carlos Yunsan, who is incoming KBA president in December, to find a new executive director. About 30 people applied and seven were interviewed, including other Knoxville attorneys and some with nonprofit experience, Watson said.

Blakney graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1999 and co-founded the Eldridge & Blakney firm 20 years ago. She is the immediate past president of the Tennessee Bar Assocation and also has been KBA president.

“When the (job) opportunity presented itself, it felt like the perfect opportunity that would be fulfilling,” Blakney said.

Blakney credited Watson with growing the local bar association in membership and programs in providing service. “She’s the Pat Summitt of the legal community,” Blakney said.

“I know that our bar association will continue to have a transformative impact on our community. I respect our members and the often-thankless work they do to for their clients in pursuit of access to justice,” Watson said.

Watson, 60, is moving to Hilton Head, where she and husband, Eddie, have a home. She said she will give herself “a pause” and then decide whether to go into management or association consulting. “I want to enjoy family and friends and rediscover the joy in volunteering,” Watson said.

∎ NEW MAYOR: Lori Phillips-Jones, a former prosecutor, school board member and town alderman, is the new mayor of Oneida. She was elected Nov. 4 to succeed Jack E. Lay, the town’s long-serving mayor, who did not seek reelection. She won a three-way race with nearly 60% of the vote.

Phillips-Jones is from a well-known Scott County political family. She was appointed the 8th Judicial District attorney general by then-Gov. Bill Haslam to replace an uncle, Paul Phillips, who retired. She was defeated in August 2014 in an election bid to keep the position by Jared Effler. She is the daughter of senior U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips.

∎ IN OTHER POLITICAL NEWS: Daniel Greene, who has 12 years' experience in banking and finance, will announce as a Democratic candidate for the 6th District on the Knox County Commission on Nov. 29 at Orange Hat Brewing Company on Hardin Valley Road. The event is 6-8 p.m. with a $25 donation recommended. Greene is director of the Hardin Valley Planning Advocates, which describes itself as a local organizing group working with elected officials to advocate for smart development.

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

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Vines: Governor appoints man he pardoned to inmate oversight boards