Yesterday Bill Haslam was elected Knoxville’s new mayor over Madeline Rogero by a relatively close 15,370 to 13,684 margin. The victory came in no small part thanks to this:

As of Sept. 15, Haslam had raised $578,571 – nearly four times the $155,700 Rogero raised. About half his contributions came from well-heeled business leaders and their families, while the other half came from more than 2,000 donors who gave smaller amounts.

For his part, Haslam gives credit to his grassroots campaign, which knocked down many Knoxvillian doors. By my calculations, Haslam received 0.77 votes for each alleged door his campaign struck. I have no door knocking data to assess whether that’s a good ratio or not.
Haslam says, “It’s Knoxville’s time.” Let’s hope so. There’s a lot of untapped potential here.
As for me, I’ll be looking forward to those new bikeways.

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Currently, 77 of the 7,609 registered weblogs originate in Tennessee, including a few Rocky Top Brigade members.

Today is the Knoxville mayoral primary. Knoxville will elect its first new mayor in 16 years.
Not being a city resident, I haven’t gotten into this campaign as much as I might have, given that the outcome affects me too.
There is one issue in particular, howeverm which caught my attention. Jobs? Downtown renewal? City services? Taxes? Nope. None of those things.
I was browsing Bill Haslam’s website and came across his promise to extend local greenways. I’m pro-greenway, so this sounds immediately sounded good to me. But then I came across this line:

On a bike ride from Tyson Park to Volunteer Landing, Knoxville mayoral candidate Bill Haslam pledged today to extend and enhance the city�s already “great” system of greenways and bike trails.
[Emphasis added.]

“Already great system”? Not for biking.
True Knoxville does have over 30 miles of paved greenways. But if you look at the list of them, you will see that many of them are quite short. Unless you don’t mind riding back and forth over the same path five times, a short trail doesn’t work well for biking. In my opinion, a trail’s got to be at least two miles long to be worthwhile to go cycling on. Of Knoxville’s 22 trails, only seven meet this minimum standard, and due to their construction or currnet usage, a few of those aren’t really suitable for cycling. In short, I’d hardly call the current system of trails “great” for biking.
Much of the campaign rhetoric focused on money and commerce-related issues that typically dominate elections. But I hope whoever wins will make quality of life issues a priority as well. Our parks and recreational opportunities lag behind those of even smaller towns. And if we want Knoxville to remain an attractive community for people to live in, we’ve got to be competitive in this facet of life as well.

Ten candidates–which one to pull for?

One of the notable aspects of the campaign cycle thus far is the inability of any of the Democratic contenders to break out of the pack. In a way, I’ve been a microcosm of this national trend, as I’ve had a hard time picking a “favorite” out myself. I like a lot of what many of the candidates say, but so far none of them has singled him or herself out above the others.

Nonetheless, I’ve got to make up my mind sooner or later. And since the process of writing helps one focus more clearly on an issue, I’m going to assemble my first ranking of the candidates.

The criteria used to compile this subjective list include the following: (1) compatibility of the candidate’s policy positions with my own; (2) how well I think he (or she) will manage the Executive Branch and work with Congress; and (3) the candidate’s electability factor–can he (or she) win?

The list is as follows.  It’s still quite fluid, but here’s how things are shaping up:

• (1-tie)  John Kerry: A leading contender for some time.
• Pros: Record of outstanding military service; moderate positions on foreign policy and trade; seems thoughtful and even-tempered.
• Cons:  Campaign seems to be continually spinning its wheels; on T.V. he often appears to lack the optimistic disposition which attracts many voters.
• (1-tie) John Edwards: I’ve had a harder time getting a handle on him, in part because he’s hasn’t generated as much media buzz.
• Pros:  Intelligent; articulate; moderate positions; a Southerner; a lawyer (a positive in my book, though not by many people).
• Cons:  Lack of foreign policy experience.
• (3)  Dr. Howard Dean:  A month ago Dean might have ranked higher, but I’ve wondered about some of his recent policy statements on trade and repealing the Bush tax cuts.
• Pros:  Deserves a great deal of credit for setting up a tremendous grass-roots campaign apparatus and appealing to “new” voters; appears to have thought through a number of issues, such as health care; his emphasis on balancing budgets.
• Cons:  His recent comments on trade have sounded a bit too protectionistic for me; probably comes across as a little too angry for many voters.
• (4)  Joseph Lieberman:  Worked well at the bottom half of the ticket, I’m not sure sure about the top half.
• Pros:  Solid, centrist credentials; established name recognition; his economic policies have a sound footing.
• Cons:  Sounds too hawkish regarding the Middle East; hasn’t found a core message to generate voter enthusiasm.
• (5)  Dick Gephardt:  Can an old establishment Democrat win in 2004?
• Pros:  A seasoned statesman; connects with blue collar America.
• Cons:  Time has probably passed him by;  doesn’t favor free trade; missed opportunities to lead Democrats to victory in the House.
• (6)  Bob Graham:  Probably meant to be a capable Senator.
• Pros:  Solid service as an executive and in the Senate Intelligence Committee.
• Cons:  Hasn’t shown much energy on the campaign trail; hasn’t offered a message which will drive voters to the polls.
• (7)  Carol Moseley Braun:  An interesting thought, but a long-shot from the start.
• Pros:  Is articulate; serves as a good role model.
• Cons:  Hasn’t mounted a serious campaign; one has to wonder about someone who loses their Senate seat; though it’s wrong to say, America just isn’t ready for a female black president.
• (8)  Dennis Kucinich:  A maverick who won’t work well in the White House.
• Pros:  Apparently not driven by pollsters; willing to go against the grain.
• Cons:  His plan to immediately pull U.S. troops out of Iraq and pull the U.S. out of NAFTA would not be a good move.
• (9)  Al Sharpton: Due to his past baggage, Reverend Sharpton doesn’t deserve serious attention or to be included in the Democratic debates.
• Pros:  One liners; raises an important issue on equality in America.
• Cons:  History of racial divisiveness.
• (Wild card)  General Wesley Clark: I don’t yet know enough about the general’s policies and priorities to rank him.
• Pros:  Military background; intelligence; articulate.
• Cons:  Political inexperience; Clark’s voting record and some of the statements he’s made make me wonder about the depth of his commitment to the Democratic party’s agenda.

That’s the way things stand today. Hopefully the candidates will continue to distinguish themselves to make this ranking easier next time. It would also help if a few of them drop out.

Welcome to the “new” and improved Resonance. Whether you have migrated over from the old site or have found for this weblog first time, I appreciate your visit.
After running a Blogger-powered site for five months, I decided I’d likely get more out of my blogging experience by switching to Movable Type. More options and flexibility–which is usually a good thing.
I plan to leave the archives up at the previous site for some time. So all the older stuff will be there, and all the new posts will be here.
I hope you enjoy your stay and come back soon!