Jeff Talman Kicks Off Campaign For City Mayor
By Ken Lay
Jeff Talman kicked off his campaign for Knoxville City Mayor early last week. His campaign will emphasize unity, safety and prosperity.
He spent much of the late afternoon and early evening working the Square Room on Market Square, greeting supporters before giving an impassioned speech outlining his vision for Knoxville, should he be elected and unseat Indya Kincannon.
He addressed the crowd and admitted he was a long shot to win the mayoral race. But he knows nothing is impossible as he recalled a monumental college football upset when Appalachian State stunned Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“If you asked the handicappers, they would say Talman is a long shot,” he said. “But App. State was a long shot at the Big House, weren’t they?
“Together, we can do this because we’re good people and I couldn’t be more honored to be here. Knoxville is the greatest city in the world.”
During his remarks, he called for unity as he implored the residents of the city and county to work together to help him be elected.
“There are people out there who say, ‘I’d like to help you, but I live in the county,’” he said. “But you don’t have that luxury anymore. What happens in the city impacts what happens in the county.”
The mayoral candidate noted that county residents have acquaintances in the city and stressed the need to encourage city residents to vote.
He also emphasized the importance of working together with Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and the Tennessee Legislature.
“I don’t think we have the luxury of not working across all jurisdictions with our partners,” he said. “The Tennessee Senate is a friend and I think people grossly underestimate our county mayor.
“I think he’s a smart guy and I think there’s an awful lot of business we can do together, not because we’re trying to be friends, other than we have a duty to our citizens to look after their interest at a very high level. We’ve got shared issues with traffic and shared issues with law enforcement.”
On the issues of safety and law enforcement, Talman said that the current administration is sending mixed signals to the community and to the city’s police force. He stated that Kincannon’s policy of alternate strategies is nothing more than an effort to disband the Knoxville Police Department. He vows to work with law enforcement.
“Our current administration is sending mixed signals,” he said. “I will support KPD. A government’s primary responsibility is to keep its citizens safe.”
He also stressed the need for entrepreneurial capitalism for Knoxville’s economic growth.
“The left is against development but they don’t realize that the place where they live was once a development,” he said. “I will support entrepreneurial capitalism and that will be helpful to our most vulnerable citizens.”
