Seema Singh must resolve issues to run for state House seat held by Johnson | Ashe

City Councilwoman Seema Singh is having to explain to the State Democratic Executive Committee why, after voting in four consecutive Republican primaries in 2020 and 2022, she should be allowed to run as a Democrat for the District 90 seat now held by state Rep. Gloria Johnson. This would often be a no-no for both parties.

The answer appears to be that significant local contests in Knox County were occurring in the GOP primary while the Democratic primary had only one candidate or none. Singh probably backed the Democrats in the general election.

Singh may be the Democrats’ best candidate for a seat they now hold. If she is disqualified, then the Democrats may not have any candidate or a strong candidate against the GOP nominee. District 90 covers north Knoxville and part of west Knox County.

Another issue facing Singh is that Johnson has not said if she will run for reelection while also running for Marsha Blackburn’s U.S. Senate seat. Local Democrats would clearly vote in large numbers for Johnson to stay in the state House, making it unlikely Singh would oppose her.

A legislative forum to which all 10 Knox lawmakers have been invited will be held 9-10 a.m. Jan. 20 at the Phyllis Wheatley Center, 124 S. Cruze St. in East Knoxville. The Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters will host.

It will be interesting to see who attends, as some Republicans have not appeared at events sponsored by the League. David Wright is one Republican who is usually present along with Sens. Richard Briggs and Becky Massey and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.

Thanks go to the Haslam family for their $10 million gift to the University of Tennessee emergency medical center. An upgrade is needed to accommodate the large number of patients who use this important facility.

The gift is the single largest philanthropic gift ever to the UT Medical Center. Improvements will include 30 additional patient treatment rooms plus eight new intake rooms. The critical intake center will be doubled in size to accommodate an increasing number of patients.

The closure of Long’s Drug Store on Kingston Pike is sad. Each Saturday morning it was a place to be as folks gathered for coffee, breakfast and conversation. It was an institution for more than 65 years and leaves many memories.

Controversial U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who was Rep. Tim Burchett’s chosen Lincoln Day Speaker here in Knox County two years ago, is running for a third term in Colorado but has switched districts from western Colorado to eastern Colorado.

Her new district is more Republican and is now an open seat as incumbent Ken Buck is retiring. Boebert will be one of five credible but very controversial candidates in this new contest.

House of Representatives members do not need to live in the district they represent, but Boebert has said she plans to move her residence.

Boebert barely managed to win reelection over a Democrat in 2022 by 500 votes out of 220,000 and was considered highly vulnerable. She faced significant issues from unhappy Republicans and Democrats. The new district may not welcome someone who has never lived there, although it is legal for her to try it.

Boebert and Burchett are close friends, but she did not join Burchett in voting to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Birthdays

Jan. 18: Maribel Koella is 76. Former city councilwoman Janet Testerman is 55. Police Chief Paul Noel is 48. Former city councilwoman Carlene Malone is 79. Jean Bonnyman is 61. Caroline Trotter is 29. Chrissy Stephens is 53.

Jan. 19: LeGrand Hyde is 80. Toby Carpenter is 55. Businessman Steve Bailey is 71. Former chancellor Mike Moyers is 63. Former county commissioner John Schmid is 56. Dolly Parton is 78. Susan Farris is 78.

Jan. 20: GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is 52. Joyce Tapscott is 75. Porscha Harris is 42. Former Knoxville mayor Randy Tyree is 84. John DuPree is 56. Nancy Barger is 45. Seth Hunt is 43. Holly Warlick is 40. Retired Knox County health director Martha Buchanan is 60. Former city communications director Craig Griffith is 71.

Jan. 21: Attorney Jack Draper is 93. Criminal Court Judge Hector Sanchez is 40. Former GOP chair Chad Tindell is 60. Amy Rosine is 52. Retired judge Bobby McGee is 75. Pete Natour is 65.

Jan. 22: Scott Broyles is 60. Stuart Worden is 92. Gary E. Drinnen is 42. Susanna Varlan Anderson is 35. Patricia H. Mesa is 52.

Jan. 23: UT’s Brian Broyles is 41. Richard Gerhold Jr. is 50. Laura Nichols is 67. Christopher Ooten is 54.

Jan. 24: Jeanie Sharp is 66. David Hollow is 54. Carter Hall is 28. John Garrison is 68. Carroll Grubbs is 88. Former Tennessee congressman Bart Gordon is 75.

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

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Seema Singh must resolve Democratic Party issues to run for House