There is a power struggle going on. It involves several boards appointed by city council. Many of these boards have control over city infrastructure and/or make recommendations to council regarding city development, tax increment financing awards, and other important issues.
At yesterday's city council meeting, an appointment to one of the most powerful boards in Morristown--the Morristown Utility Commission--was on the agenda.
The Morristown Utility Commission voted on June 27 on three names to send to the Mayor (current MUC member Max Biery, Steve Isaacs, and Terry Brimer). The Mayor then recommends one name for a full council vote. The MUS video is here:
Yesterday, Mayor Thomas recommended that Max Biery be re-appointed to the Morristown Utility Commission.
Bob Garrett, a 40+ year former employee and former head of the Water Department at MUS, immediately moved to reject Biery's nomination. He was then joined by three other councilmembers who rejected Biery by a 4-3 vote. Those voting to reject Biery were Garett, Paul LeBel, Chris Bivens, and Dennis Alvis. Voting for Biery were Mayor Thomas, Gary Chesney, and Kay Senter.
None of the four stated why they were opposed to Biery or who they have in mind for the position. Biery has served as a Morristown Utility Board Commissioner since 2001 when the Board was expanded to five-members. Biery is a retired head of J-TEKT and his initial appointment was seen as placing a representative of industrial interests on the MUS Board.
At its January 23 meeting, the Morristown Utilities Commission heard a presentation from Alan Bridwell of the Northeast Tennessee Valley Regional Industrial Development Association.
Most of the discussion centered around automotive manufacturers and suppliers.
MUC (Morristown Utilities Commission) will ask City Council to approve a seven-million dollar variable rate bond issue for construction of electric substations at this afternoon's 5:00 council meeting.
.
MUC plans to convert the variable rate bonds to fixed rates if variable rates start upward and hit a certain trigger point.
Congressman Phil Roe visited with the Morristown Utilities Commission prior to its October meeting yesterday. After a presentation by MUC on technology, Roe took questions.
Above, Roe responds to a question from Lynn Elkins on the impact of Obamacare on businesses. Roe noted that businesses that currently provide health insurance will "do the math" and eventually eliminate costly health insurance and pay the $2,000/per employee fine.
Next, Roe gave an example of the negative impact of Obamacare on businesses that do not provide health insurance.
Below, Congressman Roe (left) poses for a picture with MUC Commissioners (l-r) Lynn Elkins, Harold Nichols, Gene Jolley, Max Biery, George McGuffin, and MUC Gen. Mgr. Jody Wigington.
The above is a 17-second clip from State Representative Don Miller's opening statement at a public debate at Walters State on June 18, 2012.
I was not at the debate but was told by others who were there that my name made it into Miller's opening comments as he bragged about his "courage" to do his "duty" and his "courage" in standing up to Linda Noe.
Well, the only thing that I ever asked Don to do was to let the people of Morristown vote on Don's bill to change the Morristown Utilities Commission (MUC) appointment process from the appointment process that the people had already voted for as part of the 2001 MUC referendum election to what Don had decided in 2012 would be best.
If Don thinks that refusing my request and those of many others to let the people vote on his MUC bill somehow shows "courage," that's funny and pathetic at the same time.
Don didn't stand up against me. He stood up against the people of Morristown. He made a mockery of the 2001 referendum.
Turning your back on the people and overturning an appointment process that was put in front of the people and overwhelmingly approved BY THE VOTERS in an election as part of a series of MUC reforms is not my definition of "courage."
Turning your back on the people and refusing to let the people vote is cowardly and shows complete and utter contempt for the people.
Morristown City Council, same tune, SIXTEENTH verse: "Nobody else can sit in the McGuffin seat on the Morristown Utilities Commission."
In the video, above, council takes all of one minute at its April 3, 2012, meeting to reject John Hodge's appointment to the MUC Board. The vote was 5-2 in favor of rejecting Hodge.
Voting to reject Hodge were: Paul LeBel, Bob Garrett, Kay Senter, Claude Jinks, and Chris Bivens. Voting for Hodge were Mayor Danny Thomas and Councilman Gene Brooks.
Hodge's name was on the most recent list of three candidates sent to the Mayor BY MUC and deemed qualified BY MUC, but deemed unsuitable by five councilmembers. The other candidates on the sixteenth MUC list were Peter Cantwell and, of course, George McGuffin.
Hodge's name is not McGuffin, so he can't really sit in the McGuffin seat and, thus, his quick rejection.
Do you think that MUC Commissioners George McGuffin, Harold Nichols, Lynn Elkins, Gene Jolley, and Max Biery are concerned that SIXTEEN candidates selected by MUC have been rejected by the City Council?
There is no concern by MUC over this series of rejection because the commissioners are quite happy that another person (#16) took it on the chin so George McGuffin can continue to hold his MUC seat.
Now, MUC and the LeBel Five are waiting for Governor Bill Haslam to sign the McGuffin Law that was recently passed by the state legislature under the sponsorship of local Sen. Steve Southerland and local Rep. Don Miller. Then the LeBel Five get their turn to vote for the McGuffin Law, and it's done.
The McGuffin Law allows five councilmembers to override and change the current MUC appointment process that was approved by 3,202 people (72% of voters) as part of the 2001 MUC Referendum Question that MUC supported.
Ironically, it was MUC that came up with and recommended the current appointment process to the city council back in 2001, and MUC supported and encouraged people to vote FOR the MUC Referendum Question that included the current appointment process in 2001.
Now MUC and the LeBel Five and Rep. Miller and Sen Southerland have decided that five people should be allowed to change the appointment process that was approved by 3,202 people in 2001.
The McGuffin Law will eventually enable the five councilmembers who have caused appointment gridlock for the last 8-9 months--on behalf of George McGuffin---to "officially" put McGuff back on the MUC.
Watching state legislators and councilmembers sponsor legislation and vote to override a local referendum in order to change a local Private Act for one person is amazing.
And Sen.Southerland, who sponsored the McGuffin Law, didn't vote for it and wouldn't amend the law to call for a $250 referendum for approval!
And State Representative Don Miller, who sponsored the McGuffin Law, wouldn't allow an amendment to provide for a $250 referendum for approval!
A referendum where the people were allowed to speak through their votes wasn't scary in 2001.
What's so scary in 2012 about a $250 referendum where the people can have a voice, where there would be verification of voter status, and where there would be privacy in the voting booth?
The "news"paper reported that the McGuffin Law was introduced in the state legislature, but I haven't seen an article on the changes made by Sen. Steve Southerland and Rep. Don Miller.
The local "McGuffin Law" (SB 3787/Sen. Steve Southerland and HB 3860/Rep. Don Miller) was sent to the state legislature by the LeBel Five: Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Claude Jinks, and Chris Bivens. The LeBel Five's appointment process (Nov 2011) had all MUC appointments bypassing the Mayor and coming directly to city council.
Southerland and Miller had state attorneys re-write the "McGuffin Law" so it would provide that the Mayor gets three chances to please the LeBel Five by appointing the person the Five want and then, if the Mayor doesn't please the Five with any of his three appointments, the next MUC appointment comes directly to council and the LeBel Five can finally appoint McGuffin this year and any person they want in future years.
[Since the Mayor hasn't been able to please the LeBel Five with his past FOURTEEN nominations, the changes by Southerland and Miller will have little practical effect]
Southerland and Miller re-wrote the "McGuffin Law," but they are not willing to put their new and improved "McGuffin Law" to a vote of the people in a REFERENDUM--which is how the current appointment process was enacted in 2001.
The LeBel Five don't want a $250 CITY REFERENDUM on the "McGuffin Law" on August 2, 2012, in conjunction with the county election----or at any time---and Southerland and Miller are leaving it where the LeBel Five don't have to worry about a referendum. The LeBel Five get the final say on approval of the "McGuffin Law."
It's way too risky to let the people vote again, so the LeBel Five will use their FIVE votes to change what 3,202 people voted for in the 2001 REFERENDUM. No REFERENDUM in 2012 as in 2001. Just shut the people out this time.
The irony here is that there have been many votes at the state level to prevent voter fraud, such as the requirement that voters present a Picture ID before voting---and I absolutely agree with the Photo ID law.
But who protects the votes and the integrity of a referendum election after it has taken place?
It appears that the integrity of the 2001 REFERENDUM and the votes of 3,202 PEOPLE don't count when politicians and George McGuffin are scrambling to ensure that McGuffin continues on the Morristown Utilities Commission.
Why have local officials decided that having one particular person--and no one else--on the MUC Board is so important that:
(1) They have to go to the State to get the MUC Private Act changed;
(2) They are willing to overturn an appointment process that was approved by 72% of the voters (3,202 people) in a referendum; and
(3) They are acting like it would be the end of the world if the McGuffin Law didn't pass?
And why has George McGuffin decided that his power and position on the MUC Board are worth creating appointment gridlock for eight months, having his name submitted fourteen times, and going to the state to get local officials to overturn the current MUC appointment process that was overwhelmingly approved in the 2001 REFERENDUM?
The letter is in the mail...Click on the image to enlarge, read, copy...
Morristown-Hamblen Citizens for Accountability recently sent letters to Morristown voters with history, background, and current information on the effort by five Morristown City Councilmembers (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) to overturn the votes of the 3,202 people (72%) who voted for a series of changes to the Morristown Utilities Commission in a 2001 referendum.
The Five have set in motion their plan to do an end-run around the MUC appointment process that 3,202 voters put in place with their votes FOR the 2001 MUC referendum question!
These Five have decided that they don't like the MUC appointment process that was among the MUC changes put in place by 3,202 VOTERS in 2001. So...the Five have decided that THEY will overturn the voter-approved MUC appointment process all by themselves---without going back to the people in a referendum to see if the PEOPLE want to leave the current appointment process in place or want to make a change.
The Five apparently don't care about the integrity of the referendum as the voice of the people. The Five think that they are justified in overturning the votes of the PEOPLE and changing the MUC selection process to what they want because...well...just because they can and they want to...
And because George McGuffin is sitting on the sidelines and oh-so-quietly cheering them on.
In late December, the Morristown Utilities Commission did the vetting and picked its ELEVENTH list of nominees for a seat on the MUC Board: George McGuffin (who has already served on the Board for 34+ years and who desperately wants to stay on that Board), David Wild, and Chris Horne.
On January 17 Mayor Danny Thomas will submit one of those names to the Morristown City Council for approval or disapproval.
If history repeats itself, the Mayor's nomination of either David Wild or Chris Horne will be voted down by these five councilmembers: Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks.
Wild or Horne will then join the list of TEN persons (Mike Minnich, Glenn Thompson, Carroll Fowler, Wally Long, John Allen, Mike Davidson, Bruce Sluder, Jerry Isaacs, Gene Lynch, and Steve Henrikson) that The Five have rejected over the past seven or so months.
But McGuff and The Five view all this as just a temporary setback. The Five are moving to change state law just for McGuff so they can put him back in right away instead of serially rejecting other MUC-recommended candidates.
McGuff and The Five don't care that the people set up the current appointment process and that MUC ran pricey paid political ads to get the people's (72%) support for this and all the MUC changes in the 2001 Referendum.
It's kind of funny to imagine how all this plays out in jokes on the golf course, at the Club, and at the elite parties.
Hey, David (Wild), do you really think you can get LeBel and Bivens and Senter and Jinks and Garrett to vote for you? Have you had "the talk" with Bivens to let him know that you're just a strawman nominee who's not really interested in taking Daddy McGuff's seat---so it's OK to vote against you?
Hey, Chris (Horne), we admire you for letting your name be put out there for the LeBel Five to reject. After you "lose one for the McGipper," your name can be added to the Guinness Book of World Records under "most MUC rejectees ever."
Hey, George, remember those cute political ads that MUC ran in the "news" paper back in 2001 to get people to vote for MUC changes? Guess you're pretty happy that you have the clout to get your council buddies to cancel out those 3,202 votes without blinking an eye!
Of course, some people wouldn't dare kid George about his obsession with holding onto the MUC seat, but they just might have some thoughts like...
Can you believe that McGuff is so obsessive/compulsive that he won't let go of his MUC seat after 3-1/2 decades and just move on?
Taking over the sewer and having control of all utilities in Morristown must be really important to Daddy McGuff and a lot of others. All that power and you don't even have to run for election!
Wow! Daddy McGuff, Momma McGuff, and Frank McGuff took Frank's loss to newcomer Danny Thomas in the Mayor's race so hard that Daddy McGuff now has his buddies on City Council trying to change the law just for him so Daddy McGuff can stay on the Morristown Utilities Commission.
Yes, it looks like money and power can make an individual and elected officials arrogant enough as to be willing to overturn the votes of 3,202 people in a referendum.
For the TENTH time, the Morristown Utilities Commission submitted three names to Mayor Thomas for appointment to the MUC Board. [George McGuffin, Steve Henrikson, and David Wild]
For the TENTH time, Mayor Thomas selected and nominated one of those individuals for appointment to the MUC Board. [Steve Henrikson]
For the TENTH time, council rejected the Mayor's appointment.
As soon as Mayor Thomas nominated Steve Henrikson to the Morristown Utilities Commission, Councilmember LeBel moved to reject the nomination.
The five members of the McGuffin-or-bust group (Paul LeBel, Kay Senter, Bob Garrett, Chris Bivens, and Claude Jinks) then voted to reject Steve Henrikson's appointment. Mayor Thomas and Gene Brooks voted for Henrikson.
Henrikson now joins the group of ten people proposed by MUC, nominated by the Mayor, and rejected by city council.
Married. Three grown children. Taught school 11 years. Entered law school in 2001. Graduated and passed the bar in 2004. Licensed attorney in Tennessee. Hamblen County Commissioner (2002-2006). Focused on accountability, ethics, and openness in government at all levels.
Comments to my blog posts are welcome. However, verification of the identity of commenters will be made via phone contact before comments are posted.
You send a comment by clicking on the "comments" button at the end of each post. After sending a comment via blogger, you must send me (lindacnoe@aol.com) a separate e-mail that contains your full name and phone number so I can contact you by phone to verify your identity and that you are the source of the comment.
I request phone contact information to protect both you and me. By contacting you prior to posting a comment, I try to prevent the possibility that someone else might send a comment to the blog and put your name on it.
If, during phone verification, you feel that there is still a need for your comment to be labeled "anonymous," it can be posted that way.
This is my blog, and I reserve the right to control what appears on this site.
Click on the label "anonymous comments" (below) for more background information on my blog comments policy.
