I can remember several years ago looking at Knoxville City Council election results and being puzzled. How could each winning council member win almost the same number of votes within a couple of percentage points? How did that happen? I was totally confused until a friend explained that every person in the city could vote in every district. Somehow that just didn’t seem fair to me. However as of last year, that highly unusual election process changed. Thanks to a bill introduced by State Representative Elaine Davis and voted into law, voters can only vote in the district in which they live.
There hasn’t been a city council election since this bill became law which brings up a very interesting question, “Can a conservative now win a seat on Knoxville’s liberal City Council?”
Aren’t City Elections Nonpartisan?
There are those who will tell you that the Knoxville City Elections are nonpartisan. In a perfect world, that might be true. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world.
Educated voters realize these elections are partisan regardless of what anyone says. They know each party has their favorite city candidates and is raising money to get those people elected to advance their party’s platform. I’m not sure why people continue to say these elections are nonpartisan because educated voters know that’s not true.
But is the City Council Really Liberal?
Let’s look at some of the more controversial accomplishments of the Knoxville City Council to prove the point that the council has been, and is now, very liberal. Perhaps one of the most egregious things the city council has done to voters in the past few years was to approve a $0.50 per $100 property tax increase in 2022. According to WBIR, “city leaders said they needed to raise the tax to help cover the extra $26 million to fulfill its budget priorities.”
These types of tax increases are not increases that conservatives are comfortable with. Especially if it were possible that this hefty increase would not have been necessary if the city council were not diverting millions to liberal and leftist nonprofits including Knox Pride, Bridge Refugee and Centro Hispano.
You can check out Knox Pride and Bridge Refugee by clicking on their names and determine for yourself if these organizations would be supported by conservatives. In addition, according to Knox Compass, Centro Hispano is “Developing “know your rights” workshops and establishing procedures for clients who are impacted by deportation proceedings to expedite their access to resources.” Unfortunately, this article is located behind a paywall so you’ll have to pay to access it.
That’s Just the Beginning
In addition, in December 2020 Knoxville City Council created a reparation fund called the African American Equity Task Force that has already spent about one million dollars of taxpayer money. You can check out page seven of the proposed 2025-2026 Knoxville budget to see how much this organization is slated to receive this year. Again, this type of spending is not supported by the majority of conservatives.
Finally, the City Council, and the Democratic mayor, are moving forward to fund a pedestrian bridge from downtown to South Knoxville. This despite the fact you can no longer even drive across the Gay Street Bridge. The conservative voters I’ve talked to are wondering why we don’t repair the Gay Street Bridge instead of spending tens of millions to build a walking bridge that will benefit very few long-term residents? I don’t know the answer to that; I’m not sure anyone does.
We Need Conservative Voices on the Knoxville City Council
It’s obvious from these examples that the current Council is decidedly liberal and could profit from a few conservative voices to rein in their reckless spending spree.
But is it really possible for a conservative to get elected to the liberal City Council? There are some that believe not only is it possible, but 2025 is the best time in recent years for this to happen.
One Man’s Fight for Representation of His District
I spoke recently with Doug Lloyd, a candidate for the Third District. As president of Lloyd’s Electric, Doug deals with the city every day as a contractor. He will tell you how frustrating dealing with the city of Knoxville can be. While he works in seven different states and multiple jurisdictions, Doug has found Knoxville to be one of the most difficult city governments to work with.
That is one of the many reasons Doug began thinking about running for Knoxville City Council. It didn’t take him long to realize that there were a host of other reasons why he needed to run. As he worked to get signatures for his petition, he found that many of his friends and neighbors were concerned about the same things he was – especially the need for infrastructure improvements.
Unfortunately, they didn’t feel like their district received very much representation when council decisions were made. As Doug continued to get signatures, he realized, “Everyone I spoke to as I passed my petition around was very interested in seeing things change.”
“I Want to Be the Guy Who Tells You the Truth”
While he knows he faces some opposition, Doug is prepared to fight for representation for his district. He wants to get citizens information about upcoming expenditures in a timely manner, so they have a say in how their money is spent. In addition, he wants to bring attention to expenditures that are not in the best interests of the third district.
As we spoke, Doug declared, “I want to be the guy who tells you the truth. I want to be the guy who tells you the facts….the facts should be the same for everybody.” He continued by saying, “I want to see a fair shake for the folks in the third district. When I see proposals come through that aren’t in the best interest of the city and are not forward thinking, I will not support that”.
But he can’t do it alone. As we spoke, he emphasized, “If we could flip three or four seats, we could make a difference. We just need to find the people who would be willing to speak up.”
We Now Have the Opportunity to Elect a Conservative
Right now, is the perfect opportunity to do that. Doug declared, “For the first time in a long while we have the opportunity for clear and concise representation.” He went on to say that the changes in the election laws so that only voters in the district can vote for their district candidate give everyone a “fair shake”.
So, the answer to the question, “Can a conservative win a seat on the liberal Knoxville City Council?” is a resounding yes. But only if every conservative is willing to get out there and fight for those who are willing to throw their hat into the ring.
If We Can Get One Conservative, Why Can’t We Get Three?
In addition, we don’t want just one conservative…one lone voice of reason on the very liberal city council. We need, as Doug said, three or four. So, here’s your job and you don’t have much time. Right now, we don’t have candidates in the second (West Knoxville) and sixth (Downtown and East Knoxville) city council districts.
We need you to think about who you know that could run for these seats. As I said, there isn’t much time. Petitions must be picked up, signed by 25 district registered voters, and the petition returned by noon on May 15th.
What Can You Do to Help?
So, if you live in these districts, get on the phone….call all your friends and neighbors and find a conservative candidate. This is the perfect opportunity to move Knoxville’s City Council back into conservative territory.
But the work is just beginning. Once we get candidates for all the districts, it is up to conservatives to support them both financially and “boots on the ground”. Make no mistake, the liberals are not going to allow these seats to be occupied by conservatives without a fight.
But isn’t it worth it? How much are you and I willing to do to keep Knox County conservative? By moving Knoxville’s City Council over to a more conservative leaning council, we’re making major inroads into the liberal attempt to turn Knox County blue.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to make excuses to my future grandchildren about why Knox County became a liberal county. I want to be able to tell them I did everything I could to ensure that this county remained a bastion of truth, freedom, and conservativism. What about you?