In today’s News-Sentinel Scott Barker details that in December Circuit Court Clerk Cathy Quist hired Knox County Auditor Richard Walls son to a $27,000 a year job. Last December she hired the spouse of County Commissioner Mark Cawood and this past August that employee had to resign due to embarrassing actions on her part that were brought to light by Brian’s Blog.

In July 2007, longtime employee Hubert Smith was laid off due to a lack of funding for his position in Ms. Quist operation. Ms. Quist and her staff believed erroneously that Mr. Smith a friend of Brian Hornback was the source for the findings related to the postings on Brian’s Blog.

Now in order to avoid any auditor review Ms. Quist hires the auditor’s son.

Now the Knox County Mayors Office in cooperation with the Knox County Commission will have to employ and pay an independent auditor as questions about the office operation of Ms. Quist has not been cleared since the questions of employee time records and hiring and promotion practice of the Clerks office are still an ongoing investigation.

With the departure of Sharon Cawood in August, Ms. Quist placed her longtime boyfriend and reported fiance Greg Shanks in the supervisory position, certainly a move of nepotism. With the hiring of Mr. Walls son it is clearly a move of cronyism.