Last week, the Knoxville News Sentinel owned Shopper publication in the gossip and lies column noted that Jim Weaver should reveal if he intends to keep Phil Ballard on staff if he wins. While it is suspected that current PA employees Ballard, Linda Turner and Rodney Lane would all have aspirations to be Chief Deputy, we speculate their is another potential candidate.

A week ago, this past Monday, this person attended the Volunteer Republican Women’s lunch and the West Knox Republican Club that evening. A source gave me an unconfirmed report that this individual recently passed through the Assessor’s office and remarked to an employee, I had to go protect your job, as a reason they attended a club meeting. This past Monday the same person attended the Halls Republican Club. All the while the person has been absent from the scene for well over a year, the individual is former County Commissioner Robert Lawrence Smith.

Phil Ballard, The Property Assessor is a former County Commissioner that hired former Commissioner Craig Luethold, then Leuthold was appointed by Commission as the interim Trustee and when the county voters rejected him as Truatee, he immediately returned to the Assessor’s office. The Property Assessor’s Office is a resting place for former Commission cronies, so another one on the payroll ain’t a big deal. Right?