Vote for Van Shaver for County Mayor

My Years on Commission

In 2002 with the support of the voters of the fifth district, I was elected to County Commission. To say these first three years have been exciting would be an understatement. Soon after taking office it became apparent that their were a lot of opportunities for improvement. Many improvements have now been made but there are still lots more that need to be done. I have made a lot of new friends and several new enemies. It seems that when you expose wasteful use of tax payers money and start to cut the fat, the fat is usually hooked to some one. If you refuse to "play the game" or oppose the status quo you won't make a lot of friends on the inside.

One of my fellow commissioners got so angry that I wouldn't just "go along" with his foolish attempt to harass and destroy a citizens property and throw away tax money, he filed a law suit to have me removed from office. The suit was dismissed and all costs charged to my fellow commissioner. Click here to see the final court order issued by Chancellor Williams.

I feel fortunate to have served with eight other dedicated men and women on the Commission for these past three years. While we haven't always agreed on everything we have all remained friends and co-workers.

While a single commissioner can not actually make anything happen without the support of a majority of commissioners, each of us have certain issues that we feel strongly about and work to achieve. Below are some of the issues that I have been very involved in.

Proposed and passed legislation to reach agreement with Lenoir City to prevent any future forced annexations.

Still working to bring utility water to the Hotchkiss Valley area.

Very involved in restructuring the operations of the Loudon County Convenience Centers.

Strongly supported the construction of a new Convenience Center for Greenback.

Proposed construction of a new Senior Citizens Center.

Proposed construction for a new parking lot for the Court House Annex.

Proposed and passed local legislation to prevent the use of eminent domain,condemnation by Loudon County government.

Proposed and passed legislation to bolster and strengthen regulations pertaining to the sale of beer.

Exposed waste and possible fraud on the highway 70 sewer project.

Strongly supported construction of a new animal shelter.

Proposed and passed legislation to shut down illegal strip club.

Still working to bring much needed improvements to Shaw Ferry and Hwy. 11 intersection.

Exposed many areas in County government with wasteful spending eliminating a number of them.

Proposed legislation to provide property tax relief for senior citizens. Twice.

Proposed and passed legislation to make much needed changes in zoning practices to protect local property owners.

Proposed legislation to address the local illegal immigrant problem.

Voted no on vehicle inspections.

Voted no on raising property taxes.

Worked very hard to learn and understand all areas of County government.

Worked very hard to provide as much information as possible to the full commission on any matters coming before us.

Strongly supported the relocation of the library to a larger facility.

These are just some of the many projects I have been involved with since becoming a commissioner. I'm am sure there will be more to come.