On Politics

Third time the charm? – The five-year search to replace Bonnie Loveday as Elections Administrator ended this week with the announcement that Liz Nichols had been selected for the job. Nichols won a close vote over Ronee Flynn, the other finalist for the job. Ironically, On Politics has learned that Loveday submitted a resume for consideration in the latest search. She apparently was not rated as a candidate worthy of an interview though one of her qualifications was serving in the position for 21 years. After the county did so poorly against Loveday in her wrongful termination lawsuit, it would have been thought county officials would have tried to avoid any question of wrong doing by at least interviewing her.

Ooops – Pigeon Forge Police shut down Fun Buggies electric vehicle rentals for several hours in late May. An officer pulled over one of the vehicles and sent it back to the rental office. The officer then informed the owners that the vehicles had to have a bumper and must be able to drive the speed limit. Fun Buggies owners had to bring a copy of 2002 state law to headquarters before officers accepted that the law requires the vehicles not to exceed a speed of twenty-five miles an hour on a state road with a thirty-five mile per hour posted speed limit. The requirements for slow speed electric vehicles does not require them to have bumpers in Tennessee.

Wild, Wild West – The City of Gatlinburg voted to annex 117 acres into the city on Tuesday night. The property is next to Westgate resort and is expected to eventually be an addition to that property. The plan of Services done by David Ball shows that all city services are currently available to the property. The developers pay the cost for tying on any construction on the site to city water and sewer lines.

When budgets go bad – According to an article in the Salem Statesman Journal, Oregon’s budget crunch has gotten so bad that some are benefiting. Jose Leonidas Selva Jr. appears to be one man who is happy the state is broke. Selva arrested behind the wheel of a stolen car in April, his third arrest in two months. As in the previous arrests, Selva was summarily released two days later because Oregon had no money to pay a public defender to represent him. The limited defense funds were to be used for suspects in violent crimes, and by his third arrest, Selva knew that: “I figured, they’re just going to release me. They’re not going to hold me. I’m just going to keep doing it.” Selva was ordered to return after July 1, when new budget money is supposedly available.