In 2025, Knoxville's city council elections will change because of a recently amended state law that now prevents Knoxville voters from selecting two candidates in a district-only primary who then go on to a citywide general. State law requires that Knoxville either allow District voters to elect their own representatives or create a new system that does not nominate candidates from the district who are elected citywide.

In response, I proposed that we should keep citywide primaries and general elections for our three at-large seats currently on city council, of which I currently hold at-large seat C, but that we should change to district-only primaries and district-only general elections for our six districts. My proposal was rejected by city council when I did not receive a second at the meeting.

Instead, City Council chose to approve a proposal by Councilmember Andrew Roberto to eliminate district-only voting in the primary and adopt an all at-large voting system for city council elections with residency requirements for six of the at-large seats. City Council approved (8-1) Roberto's proposal on August 6, 2024 and it is now on city voters' ballots as Charter Amendment #2. I am urging voters to vote AGAINST this amendment. Read below for my reasons why.

Click here to read proposed Charter Amendment No. 2

At the same meeting, City Council also approved a proposal from Councilmember Thomas to move the district 5 elections to the same year as all other district council elections by creating a 2-year term beginning in 2027, following the conclusion of Thomas's term. The purpose is to prevent voters in the fifth district from having to sit out the election every four years when district-only elections are on the ballot for districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, as it is currently structured. The proposal is now on city voters' ballots as Charter Amendment #1.

Click here to read proposed Charter Amendment No. 1

Why Vote Against Charter Amendment 2?

- Knoxville has elected a greater diversity of candidates through district-only elections than at-large

- Knoxville has only elected one Black city council representative through a citywide primary and citywide general in our city’s 200+ year history.
- In 1869, the first year that Black candidates were allowed to run for city council, Knoxville’s 3rd and 4th ward both elected a Black man to represent them on city council: David Brown in the third and Isaac Gammon in the fourth.
- In 1878, Knoxville elected the largest number of Black representatives to serve on City Council at one time, 3, through ward-based elections where each ward elected two representatives to the 18-member city council, then called the Board of Alderman. Green Fields (5th Ward), Lawson Irwin (5th Ward), Moses Smith (3rd Ward)

- District residents should elect their own district representatives

- Charter Amendment No. 2 would replace our city council district representatives with regional at-large representatives that are chosen by the entire city rather than by each district’s own residents.
- At-large voting allows wealthier districts with higher voter turnout to choose each neighborhoods’ representative.
  - When looking at the past 5 city council elections, votes from districts 2 and 4 have constituted 59% of the total city vote. Black residents of those districts represent a small share of those votes as shown below in orange.

- While regional at-large representatives would be required to live in the region they would represent, all city voters would be able to determine who represents each region through a citywide primary and citywide general election, creating a system where:
  - A 6th District resident living on Hollywood Road in West Knox could run for the East Region seat on city council and never campaign in East Knoxville.
  - A 3rd District resident living north of Middlebrook could campaign exclusively in West Knoxville and be elected Northwest region representative
  - A 1st District candidate could live in Fort Sanders, never cross the bridge into South Knoxville and campaign exclusively north of the river, and be elected South Region representative.

- District-only elections protect minority voting power and the ability of racial minorities to more fully participate in the political process

- Since the adoption of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which established protections for racial and language minorities participating in the political process, courts have repeatedly found that at-large elections can result in silencing communities of color and depriving racial minorities of the equal opportunity to fully participate in the political process, especially in a city like Knoxville where voters are racially polarized. East Knoxville has long been the area of the city with the majority of the city’s Black population and has consistently elected a Black representative to city council. No other district in modern times (since 1969) in the city of Knoxville has elected a Black representative to city council. In comparison, all 6 city council districts have elected a woman to represent the district on city council, including a South Asian-American woman.
- The National NAACP adopted a resolution in 2018 recognizing at-large voting districts as a well-established electoral scheme that threatens minority group voting rights by diluting the voting power of the minority group and making it virtually impossible to elect a candidate of the group’s choice. Read the full resolution here.

- Charter Amendment 2 allows candidates who receive over 50% of the vote in the primary to win the election

Charter Amendment 2 contains a provision that allows all candidates for city council to be elected to their seat in the primary if they receive 50% plus one or more of the vote. Moving to 50% plus one voting in all city council elections, as is done in the mayoral election currently, would create a system that further privileges the incumbent and wealthier candidates in the election who will be better able to reach more voters in a short amount of time. In addition, 50% plus one voting incentivizes monied interests to pour money into the primary with the goal of sweeping city council and limiting the length of the election and thus more opportunities for other candidates to win over voters.

- Charter Amendment 2 would abandon our commitment to maintaining a majority minority voting district in Knoxville

We should protect and strengthen our majority minority district, not abandon it. We abandon our majority minority district, and all of our districts, when we silence district voices. Through an all at-large voting system we would no longer hold a commitment as a city to the right of districts to elect their own representative. We would no longer hold to the belief that the right of minority groups to elect their own representative should be protected. That is why we should vote AGAINST charter amendment 2 and adopt district-only primary and general elections for district representatives. As a city, and through the leadership of our city council, we can then consider redrawing our districts to strengthen minority voting power in Knoxville by re-constituting a majority Black voting district and explore other possibilities for strengthening the voting power of racial and language minorities in our city.