Who are these people and how long have they been in office?

Lenoir City mayor, Tony Aikens, was first elected to city council in 2003, serving in that capacity until elected as mayor in 2010. So Aikens has been in office for more than 20 years. What no one will dispute is, Aikens runs the whole show. Until Todd Kennedy was elected to council, no other council member ever dared to vote NO to anything Aikens wanted.

So, Aikens holds most of the responsibility for the mess the city is in.

Councilman, Mike Henline, was first elected to council in 2010. He was defeated in 2018 and was out of office for a couple years but was elected to council again in 2020. Henline is a total go along councilman. If you watch the meetings, it's obvious that many times, he's not even sure what the council is voting on. But rest assured, he is a huge supporter of Aikens and will vote however told to vote by Aikens. Mr. Henline has also been the recipient of some high density development rezones and at least one property donation from the city to himself. Henline has served on council for 12 years. Henline has voted for every high density development, every tax increase, the Rain Tax and mayor Aikens 1000% pay raise.

Council Woman, Jennifer Wampler, much like Henline, usually has little concept of the issues she votes for, based on her social media posts. According to Wampler, the Rain Tax, she voted for, was mandated by the state and the city doesn't get a penny of that money, it all goes to the EPA. Of course, that's nonsense. The Rain Tax was not mandated by anyone but the city council and 100% of the revenue from the tax goes directly to the city. She once complained about the high price of gas, after she voted for a gas tax increase. At a recent council meeting, Ms. Wampler stated that the city hadn't had a property tax increase since she had been in office. Wrong again. Aikens had to remind her that she voted for a 17% property tax increase in 2021. Apparently, she didn't even realize she voted for the tax increase and that's a little scary. Ms. Wampler is kind of an accidental council member. She was appointed to the seat after the death of her husband, Harry Wampler, who passed in 2016. Wampler has been on council for 8 years. She has voted for every high density development, every tax increase and the Rain Tax.

Eddie Simpson has been on city council for over 25 years now. Unlike Henline and Wampler, Simpson knows what's going on most of the time. He is a strong supporter of mass development and has said so many times. He said the 276 apartments going in by Food City would be great for the city. He has made the statement many times that Lenoir City needs more roof tops. As a former developer, some would say a failed developer, Simpson has voted for every mass development in the city. For re-election purposes, the council recently passed a moratorium on any more apartment developments for 12 months. Simpson claimed he had a brain storm and came up with the idea. Unfortunately for Simpson's brainstorm, it came from councilman Todd Kennedy. Kennedy has been calling for a pause on high density development since he was elected in 2022. Simpson ignored Kennedy's requests until it was time for re-election. Funny how those brainstorms can hit at election time. Simpson has voted for every high density development, every tax increase, the Rain Tax and mayor Aikens 1000% pay raise.

I'm asked all the time do I really believe any of the challengers can win in this election? Absolutely, they can. Elected officials can only kick dirt, literally and figuratively, in voters faces for so long before the voters kick back. Mayor Aikens, council members Mike Henline, Jennifer Wampler and Eddie Simpson have been governing against the will of the city residents for decades. At some point, the voters will have had enough. Lenoir City may be at that point.

Nothing will ever change in Lenoir City until something changes in Lenoir City.