Knoxville Democratic Party Chair Resigns

[SharonAnn]

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/news_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_359_4818516,00.html

Vines: Democratic Party chair Gray resigns
By GEORGIANA VINES, [e-mail]
July 3, 2006

Jim Gray resigned as chairman of the Knox County Democratic Party over the weekend after concluding some recent actions he had taken would not help Democratic candidates in this year's elections.
His strong support for term limits was given as the reason. He said he could not support two Democratic candidates for Knox County Commission "who have repudiated their oaths of office." He referred to County Commissioners Billy Tindell and Diane Jordan, who with three other commissioners sued to challenge Knox County's charter.


"All the stuff that's happening. I've gotten nasty, personal, slamming e-mails. I'm becoming the story. My attitude toward these people is becoming the story," Gray said Sunday.

Last month he also sent out an e-mail to party members in which he referred to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and unnamed others as "arrogant bastards."

It was apparent something was amiss when Gray did not attend a picnic sponsored by his party's candidates Friday night at Tyson Park. Many Democrats said they were not surprised by his absence. Amy Broyles, a Democratic activist who organized the picnic, estimated at least 150 people attended.

Gray began notifying people of his resignation Saturday evening.

Gray's position on term limits was so strong, he said, that he excluded Tindell, longtime county commissioner who represents 2nd District, Seat B, and Jordan, who represents 1st District, Seat A, in a listing on the party's Web site. Broyles, who's campaigning as an Independent against Tindell, was listed for the Tindell seat.

Jordan "had a fit" that her name was omitted from the newsletter, she said. She contacted a number of Democratic officeholders, all of whom said they would contact Gray to get it changed, she said.

Tindell said his son, state Rep. Harry Tindell, called Gray about the omission.

"It was kind of odd for the party to do this," Billy Tindell said.

After being told by Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols that he "needed to mend fences," Gray decided "that wasn't the smartest thing I have done," he said.

Gray then directed a change in the listing to Kevin Barry, who handles the party's Web site.

In mid-June, Gray also proposed in an e-mail to "friends" that instead of supporting local Democrats who may be term-limited that citizens "who want to take back our government" form a committee, "Citizens for Democracy and Home Rule," dedicated to restoring Knox County government's charter.

The e-mail he wrote spelling out such an election plan has drawn criticism from fellow Democrats.

In the e-mail, Gray said, "Ragsdale and company seem to think that everything will go on as before, with them in control and the term limit problem solved. Far from it!"

He goes on in the e-mail: "But it is the opportunity that interests me. We as Democratic and community leaders need to seize the moment and use this mess to rid our county of as many of these arrogant bastards as possible."

"He's just literally out of control. He's not behaving like a chairman or leader. His behavior is very irrational," Jordan said of Gray.

Jordan's and Billy Tindell's comments were made before Gray's resignation became public.

Gray got no support from people to whom he wrote about his "Citizens for Democracy" idea, but the letter became part of the current campaign chatter among Democrats.

Jim Andrews, Democratic candidate for chancellor, Division III, was one of the recipients of Gray's e-mail on "Citizens for Democracy."

"It hit like a thud and died instantly. Two or three people told him it was a goofy idea. Nobody rallied around that particular sentiment," Andrews said.

The last action Gray did as chairman was mail a letter Thursday to the party's executive committee seeking donations to mount a countywide slate for candidates.

Mark Harmon, the party's second vice chairman and a commission candidate for 2nd District, Seat A, said Sunday that Gray's plan will "probably get changed now."

Harmon said he proposed in an e-mail to the executive committee that a pool of $5,000 be made available to commission candidates. He also said he suspects a proposal will be made to give money to other candidates instead of having a countywide "image-building or other type effort."

Betty Reddick, the party's first vice chairman, will be interim chairman until the executive committee meets to select a new chairman, Gray said.

Jordan and Tindell and the three other commissioners filed the lawsuit challenging the Knox County Charter after the state Supreme Court ruled in a Shelby County case that supported term limits. Chancellor John Weaver has declared the charter invalid but also has given the county 180 days to fix problems. At one point, Gray was a party to a related lawsuit.

In addition to the Weaver ruling, County Commissioner John Schmid, a Republican who supports the state Supreme Court ruling, had his attorney file an appeal of Weaver's decision in an attempt to get term limits recognized in Knox County. Senior U.S. District Court Judge James Jarvis also has sent a "certified question" to the state Supreme Court in a separate case that is related to the Knox County charter issue.

The state Supreme Court ruling on Shelby County resulted in an unprecedented number of write-in candidates in the May primary because of a question of whether term-limited Knox County commissioners and possibly other officeholders could serve. As a result, the Democrats have a higher number of candidates than usual in this year's election.

Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at 865-577-6612 or [e-mail].

Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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