Tyler Caviness gained on John Rosson late in race for Knoxville municipal judge | Ashe

As I pored through election results from the Aug. 29 primary, more interesting findings have revealed themselves.

We knew already that only one city incumbent seeking a second term – Mayor Indya Kincannon – got more than 50%-plus-one vote in the city primary election Aug. 29. The two City Council incumbents running, Amelia Parker and Lynne Fugate, fell below 50% but above 40%, which bods well for both campaigns.

Strikingly, Municipal Judge John Rosson’s vote total fell the most, to 37.65%, with Tyler Caviness only 240 votes behind him at 36.21%.

The other interesting discovery in the judge’s contest is that Rosson did best in early voting and absentee ballots, winning slightly over Caviness, but on primary election day Caviness caught up with Rosson and won 2,608 votes compared with 2,561 for Rosson.

In other words, the Caviness campaign secured more support as it got closer to election day. Part of this can be attributed to voters not knowing much about Caviness in the early stages of the election. Rosson has been well known for 36 years as he seeks his 10th term.

Debbie Helsley received more votes running for City Council at-large than anyone on the ballot, with 10,536, while Kincannon won a second term with 9,429 votes. Helsley had defeated county Mayor Glenn Jacobs within the city of Knoxville in 2022 with 63% of the vote, which launched her current successful campaign.

The League of Women Voters plans again to sponsor forums for City Council and municipal judge candidates prior to the Nov. 7 general election.

This week, Sept. 14, four neighborhood associations have joined to sponsor a candidate forum at 7 p.m. at Albright Grove Brewing Company on Sutherland Avenue. They are Westwood Homeowners, Forest Heights Association, Sutherland Heights and Marble City. The public is invited. Accepting are council candidates Fugate, Helsley, Bentley Marlow, Tim Hill and Parker, along with Caviness and Rosson for judge.

David Brace’s move to chief of staff for Kincannon will not change his salary, but Grant Rosenberg, who is the new chief operations officer for the city, will earn $158,000 a year when he leaves Denark. Erin Gill started Sept. 5 at KUB as vice president of sustainability and government relations. She will earn $200,000 a year. She made $182,000 a year at the city.

Several high-level KUB leaders have started at the city before reaching KUB, including Mintha Roach, who was director of the city civil service board, and Susan Edwards, who worked for me when I was mayor.

Kincannon has named Rebekah Jane Justice as chief of urban design and development, and Cheryl Ball will be chief policy officer. Justice started in 2017 with the city as the first urban wilderness coordinator. Her salary of $122,750 will increase to $145,000. Ball joined the city in 2021 and her salary of $102,500 also increases to $145,000.

Former President Donald Trump’s sister-in-law Ann Marie Pallan (formerly married to Trump’s deceased brother Robert) lives in Dandridge (Jefferson County), Tennessee. Trump’s older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, 86, is a retired federal judge. She is expected to move in the near future to Jefferson County.

Happy birthday, Savelli’s

Savelli’s, one of Knoxville’s most popular neighborhood restaurants, is 30 years old this year. Liz Savelli, the owner and chef, has operated the restaurant on Sutherland Avenue specializing in Italian food but also other types of food. Her desserts are unique as well.

Sutherland Avenue has developed a number of restaurants of different cuisines over the past five years ranging from Middle Eastern and Ethiopian to barbecue, Mexican and spicy chicken.

Birthdays

Sept. 14: George Krieps is 62. Lee Tramel is 59. Mike Hammond is 71. County official Dwight Van De Vate is 62. Cheri Siler is 52. Mort Massey, husband of state Sen. Becky Massey, is 72. Dale Longmire is 73. TVA attorney Lamont Belk is 52.

Sept. 15: Tommy Siler is 53. Tony Hollin is 64. Mike Edwards is 72. John Shanahan is 62. Jennifer Torgeson is 52.

Sept. 16: Paris Woodhull is 29. Bennett Kizer is 43. Ronald V. Kalafsky is 55. Clerk and Master Jeffery Griswold is 43. Angelia Nystrom is 55.

Sept. 17: Former state rep Charlie Severance is 84. Richard Tierney III is 55. Richard Hinton is 74. Billy Stair is 71. Robert Marlino is 62. Lauren Longmire is 36. Michael Mollenhour is 72. Retired Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz is 70. Chef Joseph Lenn is 47. Carla Beyl is 72.

Sept. 18: UT Chancellor Donde Plowman is 71. Former Vice Mayor Finbarr Saunders is 79. School board member Kristi Kristy is 53.

Sept. 19: Former Public Defender Mark Stephens is 70. Becky Little is 83. John Little is 57. Burak Er is 54.

Sept. 20: Tom Harrington is 84. Mark Gaylord is 69. Dr. George Keough is 57. Tom Midyett is 79. John B. Robertson Jr. is 63. Samuel Slavick is 30. Kevin Murphy is 46. Christopher J. Cimino is 52.

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: Tyler Caviness gained on John Rosson late in race for Knoxville judge