Tennessee

6 News reporter Harlow Sumerford sits in this week for Gene Patterson.

Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale responded on Wednesday to the draft purchasing card audit report that revealed some questionable spending by the mayor and members of his staff.

In this week's program, the mayor's chief administrative officer, Dwight van de Vate, discusses the audit and steps the administration is taking to correct problems found in it.

Then Harlow sits down with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who talks about a number of issues, including the presidential election and EPA air quality standards.

Mercy Health Partners Metro Division CEO Jeff Ashin talks about the recent announcement about changes at Baptist Hospital and a proposal to build a new hospital downtown.

If all goes as planned, Knox County Schools will have a new superintendent by the end of the month.

Roy Mullins, a longtime Knox Count administrator, has performed the duties of the superintendent for the past year. He replaced Dr. Charle Lindsey, whose contract was bought out by the school board.

Last week, the board picked five finalists and began interviewing them.

Joining Gene Patterson to talk about the search are school board chairperson Karen Carson, and board members Dan Murphy and Cindy Buttry.

The program concludes with State Sen. Tim Burchett and Community Coalition on Family Violence member Russ Jensen, who discuss new legislation intended to close loopholes in current domestic violence laws.

A bombshell dropped late this week as news of the resignation of Cynthia Finch began to filter out of the City-County Building.

This week's program begins with a recap of Finch's resignation and some of the controversies surrounding her job as Knox County's community services director.

Then Brad Hill, a member of the Knox Charter Petition Committee, discusses some amendments being proposed for the charter. They include changes in the structure of the county executive branch, county commission, conflicts of interest in government offices. More information about the committee can be found at knoxcharterpetition.com.

Later, State Rep. Harry Brook (R - Knoxville) discusses a number of initiatives before the General Assembly, including one that would a change in the state constitution to create an elected lieutenant governor. (More news about the state legislature can be found here.)

Last week, Phil Ballard, a county commissioner who is the Republican nominee for property assessor, appeared on Tennessee This Week. This week, his opponent in the August election, Democrat Andrew Graybeal, is our guest.

Super Duper Tuesday is the day when voters in 23 states head to the polls.

In Knox County there is much more at stake that day than just the national political picture. After a year of turmoil, Knox County voters will have a lot to say about their picks for 12 vacant seats in Knox County government.

Joining Gene Patterson to talk about the primary in the first segment are Don Daugherty, chairman of the Knox County Democratic Party, and Cory Johns, vice chairman of the Knox County Republican Party.

Later, Knox County Election Coordinator Greg Mackay talks about the voting process and the large turnout that is expected.

And in the final segment, 6 News political analyst George Korda has some thoughts about the mood of voters and how that will be reflected in the voting on Tuesday.

We are now just a few weeks away from February 5, which has been dubbed Super Duper Tuesday. That's the day voters from across Tennessee and 19 other states will go to the polls to make their choice for president.

In Knox County, the presidential primary is just one decision voters will make. They'll also be selecting party nominees for county commission and four county-wide offices. Because this is a primary, voters can't vote for president in one party and then switch over to vote for a local office in another party.

We'll talk more about the local races in the next few weeks, but this week our guests are here to talk presidential politics. Joining Gene Patterson are Metropulse columnist Frank Cagle, Billy Stair, who is a former chief of staff for Gov. Ned McWherter and currently serves as communications director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Lloyd Daughtery, head of the Tennessee Conservative Union.

It is the new year and that means a new session of the Tennessee General Assembly is just around the corner. In fact, lawmakers will be convening in Nashville on Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Joining Gene Patterson to take a look at the state legislative session are Sen. Tim Burchett, Rep. Harry Tindell and Rep. Bill Dunn.

Then for the Final Word, 6 News political analyst George Korda shares his thoughts on several topics, including former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson's showing in Iowa.

Last week, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale hosted the Second Urban Mayor's Conference, a gathering of county mayors from the state's largest metropolitan centers. Together, Knox, Hamilton, Davidson and Shelby counties hold more than 40 percent of the state's total population. As a group, they are a force to be reckoned with, but what advantage does that present those who live within their boundaries?

Gene Patterson discusses that question and more with mayors Ragsdale, A.C. Wharton, Jr. of Shelby County, and Karl Dean of Davidson County.

Each year St. Mary's Hospital and the Community Coalition on Family Violence host the Anita Gregg Luncheon. The event is named for Anita Gregg, who with her son were murdered by Gregg's estranged husband more than a decade ago.

This year's luncheon speaker was Rev. Al Miles, the author of a number of books on domestic violence. He appears in the program's final segment.

The state's Sunshine Law was back in the news this week. A subcommittee studying the law says lawmakers need more room to discuss policy issues with fellow lawmakers outside the public domain.

A member of that subcommittee is Knox County Commissioner Mike Hammond, who joins Gene Patterson in this week's first segment.

Then, perhaps you've never heard of shigella or the disease shigellosis until suddenly several cases of the disease started showing up in our schools. To discuss this outbreak and other communicable illnesses is Dr. Martha Buchanan and Dr. Kathy Brown of the Knox County Health Department.

We're honored to have Carol Scott in the final segment. She is one of the unsung heroes of Knoxville history.

A decade ago, tensions were high in Knoxville's Black community because of the deaths of three Black men in separate incidents while in the custody of Knoxville police.

In response to the calls for greater accountability of the police, then-mayor Victor Ashe created the Police Advisory Review Committee, an independent group of citizens whose job was to review complaints against the department and its officers.

The glue that kept it all together was its executive director, Carol Scott, who is about to retire from the city.

When Knox County commissioners meet Monday, a number of commissioners are expected to raise more questions about the conduct of Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s office. They will also likely discuss a proposal by Knox County Law Director John Owings. Owings has recommended a do-over of the January appointments of 12 county officials. He makes the recommendation to commissioners in response to a lawsuit by the Knoxville News Sentinel that challenges the legality of the appointments.

Then 6 News political analyst George Korda talks about a letter from Mayor Ragsdale to county commissioners that Korda considers rather remarkable.

In the Final Word, Craig Griffith of St. Mary’s Hospital explains why Knoxville needs a new hospital.

When former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker entered the U.S. Senate last January, the Democrats had just taken control and Sen. Corker was the only newly-elected Republican senator. That made him dead last in seniority.

Sen. Corker joins Gene Patterson in the first two segments of this week’s program to review his seven months in Washington.

Then in the final segment, Gus Manning, Haywood Harris and Don Ferguson talk about their annual non-credit course at the University of Tennessee: “Big Orange Football Warmup and More,” August 20 and August 28.