Apparently, one of the first controversies of the new Knox County administration is that the telephone hasn’t rung.

WBIR reported here Friday that newly elected Knox County Commission Chair Terry Hill and Knox County Board of Education Chair Katherine Bike say they have not heard from new Knox County Mayor Betsy Henderson since Henderson took office September 1. Hill told WBIR she had received no phone call, text or meeting invitation and said she did not have a phone number for Henderson or her chief of staff in case of an emergency. Bike described the communication from the Mayor’s Office as “crickets.” (WBIR⁠)

There is another side to this story that deserves to be said:

The telephone works both ways.

Betsy Henderson’s mobile phone number hasn’t changed since 2001.

Hill and Henderson are hardly strangers. Henderson served on the Knox County Board of Education while Hill served on County Commission. If Commission Chair Terry Hill needed or wanted to talk with the new County Mayor, she could pick up the telephone.

The same goes for School Board Chair Katherine Bike.

If either chair believes there is an issue important enough to require the Mayor’s attention, why wait beside the telephone for Mayor Henderson to make the first call?

Call her.

Government shouldn’t be a middle-school exercise in deciding who is supposed to call whom first.

There is also an important distinction being overlooked in this discussion.

Serving as a Knox County Commissioner is a part-time elected position. Serving on the Knox County Board of Education is a part-time elected position.

The Knox County Mayor is running a full-time county administration, responsible for an organization involving more than 2,500 employees and the day-to-day business of county government.

And Betsy Henderson had been Mayor for all of 17 days when this WBIR story was published.

Seventeen days.

There is an administration to organize, department heads and employees to work with, county operations to oversee, issues inherited from the previous administration to address and an agenda to begin implementing.

Does communication between the Mayor, County Commission and Board of Education matter?

Absolutely.

WBIR correctly notes that cooperation between the Mayor and Commission is important, including because Commission adopts the county budget. (WBIR⁠)

But communication is a two-way street.

If Terry Hill believes communication with Mayor Henderson is important, she doesn’t need to wait for an invitation.

If Katherine Bike believes communication with Mayor Henderson is important, she doesn’t need to wait for an email from the Mayor’s communications staff.

Pick up the phone.

Send a text.

Request a meeting.

Walk down the hall.

What makes this particularly interesting is Hill’s acknowledgment to WBIR that she and Henderson have clashed at times. (WBIR⁠) That history makes direct communication more important, not less.

Knox County taxpayers aren’t interested in keeping score over who called whom first.

They expect their elected officials to do their jobs.

Mayor Henderson should communicate with Commission and the School Board when county business requires it. Commission and School Board members should communicate with the Mayor when they need something from her administration.

That is called governing.

So, after all the talk about “crickets,” perhaps somebody should simply make the call.

Betsy Henderson’s number has worked since 2001.

The phone works both ways.

— #TheMegaBullhornofTruth