Herrera puts out unverified information in law director campaign | Ashe

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated with a corrected item on U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-Kentucky), who was injured recently in a car crash.

The printed material being handed out by GOP Law Director candidate Daniel Herrera against incumbent David Buuck is misleading at best.

The pamphlet, being distributed by paid Herrera workers, says Herrera, who has had a law license less than four years, has made 500 court appearances.

In Knox County, Buuck says, Herrera has been the attorney for 12 criminal clients, 29 General Sessions cases (generally collections or evictions) and 28 civil cases dealing with probate or divorce, which is far short of 500. My email to Herrera asking for more details was unanswered.

The pamphlet further claims Herrera is a business owner with employees but does not name the business. He says he is a conservative outsider, but he was the chair of the Knox County Republican Party. While in that role, he directed $20,000 of GOP funds to pay Charles Kirk a fee to be the Lincoln Day speaker.

The pamphlet asserts Herrera “fought the liberal city government on high taxes” and Recode, the city's update on zoning. There is no record that he opposed Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon's 2022 tax hike, and all five City Council candidates he supported in 2021 lost. One candidate Herrera backed advocated urine therapy, which caused many to wonder who selected her. She was not credible or qualified.

Herrera moved to Knox County after losing three times for municipal office in New Jersey and North Carolina, where he never came close to prevailing.

County Commissioner Courtney Durrett, who was the first woman to chair the Knox County Commission, holds her kickoff for her second and final term 5-7 p.m. Jan. 30 at Relix event venue on North Central Street. She is unopposed in the Democratic primary March 5 but faces Republican Debbie Phillips and independent Ethan Grantham in the August county general election.

Durrett is considered a hard-working, moderate member of the county commission. Her district is entirely within the city of Knoxville.

County Commissioner Larsen Jay, 49, GOP candidate for Knox County mayor, has named longtime Republican donor and former GOP state committee member Kirk Huddleston as his treasurer for a contest still two years away. Others mentioned for county mayor are County Commissioner Kim Frazier, 51, and Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond, 71.

Democrat Jane George kicks off her congressional campaign against Rep. Tim Burchett at 6 p.m. Jan. 24 at Bistro at the Bijou. She is unopposed in the August Democratic primary.

Burchett has engaged Thomas McAfee, a 2022 UT law graduate from Claiborne County, to manage his reelection campaign. Former state representative Jimmy Matlock, former chair of the House Transportation committee, is considering opposing Burchett. In 2018, Burchett received 48% of the vote to Matlock’s 36%.

If it is a Matlock-Burchett contest, it will be competitive in August.

CORRECTION: U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-Kentucky), who is the dean of the House and a close friend of former Congressman Jimmy Duncan, sustained a back injury in a recent car crash but is making marked improvements and has moved on to physical rehabilitation, his spokesman said. An earlier version of this column contained inaccurate information about his injuries.

Birthdays

Jan. 25: Lee Sherbakoff is 65. Allison Slavick is 30. Brian Hann is 48. Sam Flanagan is 35. Jonathan Russ Frazier is 56. Retired UT law professor Carl Pierce is 77. Attorney Don Bosch is 61. Russell Kuhlman is 70.

Jan. 26: Former federal magistrate judge and current deputy city police chief Bruce Guyton is 67. Alan Carmichael is 77. Attorney and former Commissioner of Revenue Dudley Taylor is 82. Kirby B. Collins is 62. Former Pellissippi State president Allen Edwards is 79. Caroline Friedrich is 38. Emily Gregg is 30.

Jan. 27: Chief Justice John Roberts is 69. Leonard O. Evans Jr. is 75. Attorney Mark Pienkowski is 37.

Jan. 28: Retired school principal Lula Powell is 93. Andrew Spatz is 46. Christian D. Corts is 38. Sam Carey is 68.

Jan. 29: Attorney Gordon Ball is 75. Mike Fowler is 79. Tom Boyd is 69. Oprah Winfrey is 70. Bo Townsend is 70. Sam Bills and Sarah Penegar are 84. Clifford Hawks is 55. Eden E. Slater is 34.

Jan. 31: Former state Rep. Jimmy Kyle Davis is 70. Attorney and former commissioner of revenue John K. King is 84. David Martin is 73. Zane Duncan is 38. St. John’s Thom J. Rasnick is 60.

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: Herrera puts out unverified information in law director campaign | Ashe