Knoxville, TN – A sworn complaint will be filed by Knox County conservative consultant Erik Wiatr with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance alleging multiple violations of state campaign finance and election laws by Knoxville developer Scott Davis. The complaint centers on a political mailer distributed ahead of the May 5, 2026, Knox County Republican primary, which falsely attributes its funding to the closed Scruffy Little City PAC and advocates against conservative candidates Barry Beeler, Betsy Henderson, Rhonda Lee, and Sheri Super.
“This complaint exposes an attempt to manipulate the Republican primary through deception and illegal spending,” said the complainant Erik Wiatr, former chair of Scruffy Little City PAC. “Voters deserve transparency, not hidden agendas from Democrat donating developers with checkered pasts pushing liberal candidates like Larsen Jay, Gina Oster, and Buddy Burkhardt under the GOP banner.”
The mailer, which features fake Al-generated imagery and false claims includes a “Paid for by Scruffy Little City PAC” disclosure. However, the PAC was officially closed in November 2025 by its former chair Erik Wiatr and treasurer Chrissey Stephens, with no remaining funds or activities. Invoices and emails from Redhead Promos reveal that Davis personally funded the production and mailing, without registering as a multicandidate political action committee (PAC) as required under T.C.A. § 2-10-105 for expenditures opposing multiple candidates.
The complaint alleges this false attribution violates
T.C.A. § 2-19-120 (requiring accurate sponsor identification) and T.C.A. § 2-19-116 (prohibiting misleading representations of endorsements or opposition by nonexistent entities), both Class C misdemeanors. Additionally, by exceeding individual contribution limits through these expenditures-which indirectly support the candidates’ opponents-Davis is accused of breaching T.C.A. § 2-10-302 and § 2-10-303, with limits set at $1,900 per election for local races in the 2025-2026 cycle.
Davis, a prominent figure in Knoxville’s development community through his firms Eagle Bend Development and Mesana Investments, has a history of pushing for high-density housing projects that have drawn community opposition. He has sought rezonings for developments allowing up to 10 dwelling units per acre in areas, often doubling or tripling standard densities, aligning with controversial growth plans like Advance Knox. As a former Knox County commissioner and chair of the Knoxville-Knox County Public Building Authority (from which he was removed in 2021), Davis has leveraged his connections to influence local policy favoring dense development. His efforts have been frustrated recently due to the election of conservative Republican county commissioners who have been skeptical of his high-density agenda.
Public records show Davis’s pattern of supporting Democratic and liberal-leaning candidates. Davis is known for bundling tens of thousands of dollars in donations from other developers for candidates in Knox County. In 2024, he donated to Democrats Courtney Durrett and Damon Rawls in Knox County Commission races. In the current 2026 cycle, Davis has contributed to mayoral candidate Larsen Jay (opposing Betsy Henderson), county commissioner Gina Oster (opposing Sheri Super), and Buddy Burkhardt (opposing Barry Beeler), candidates running in the Republican primary but criticized for their liberal positions and actions.
Davis’s actions come amid a troubled personal history, including arrests in December 2020 for aggravated assault, animal cruelty, and resisting arrest after allegedly punching a process server and her dog, then pointing a shotgun at Knox County Sheriff deputies.
The Registry of Election Finance is requested to investigate and impose penalties, including potential criminal referrals. Attachments to the complaint include mailer images, emails, and invoices proving Davis’s payments.
