Jacobs formally announces bid for another term as Knox County mayor
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has formally announced his bid for a second term as mayor of Knox County. While widely expected, the decision means the professional wrestler won’t be running for governor in 2022.
“Four years ago, I pledged to stay true to my conservative values as Mayor,” Jacobs said in a statement. “Nobody could have envisioned a pandemic and the economic shutdown that followed, but I’m proud Knox County has been able to weather the storm without a tax increase.”
The Republican primary in the mayor’s race is scheduled for May 3, 2022. Jacobs, who wrestles as the WWE villain Kane, won the 2018 nomination by 23 votes over Brad Anders.
Here’s the full release from the Jacobs campaign:
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs will file the necessary paperwork to officially claim his spot in the 2022 mayoral race seeking re-election for the county executive seat he has held since September 2018. Alexander Waters will serve as Campaign Treasurer with Jake Ogle assisting.
As Mayor, Jacobs has demonstrated strong, conservative leadership and focused on telling the rest of the world what Knox County citizens already know: Knox County is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. He has committed to creating opportunities for everyone to thrive in an engaged and vibrant community by prioritizing jobs, education and recreation.
Jacobs promises to fervently continue this work in the second term.
Of the candidacy, Jacobs said, “Four years ago, I pledged to stay true to my conservative values as Mayor. Nobody could have envisioned a pandemic and the economic shutdown that followed, but I’m proud Knox County has been able to weather the storm without a tax increase. By tightening our belt and making smart cuts, we balanced our budget while continuing to make forward-thinking investments in our community. If reelected, the public can expect four more years of leadership with conservative values top of mind.”
Prior to his election, Jacobs owned Jacob Insurance Associates and spent more than 20 years as a professional wrestler, most notably as WWE Superstar and three-time world champion Kane.
Jacobs and his wife of more than 25 years, Crystal, have lived in East Tennessee with their two daughters Arista and Devan who both work in the healthcare field, since 1995.
Of their move to Knox County in 2013, Jacobs said, “I was fortunate to travel the world in my previous job, but I visited this area, fell in love with it and never left. I’m honored to serve such an incredible community.”
For more information or to support the Glenn Jacobs for Mayor reelection campaign, visit JacobsForMayor.com.
The Republican primary is set to take place on May 3, 2022, with the General Election following on August 4, 2022. Anyone wishing to vote in the primary must be registered to vote by April 4, 2022. Voter registration information can be found here.
Healthcare startup’s simulation finds most critical coronavirus cases in Shelby, Knox
Source: Carrot Health COVID-19 Critical Infection Risk Dashboard
Shelby and Knox counties are likely to have the most critical — and fatal — cases of coronavirus in Tennessee, according to simulations by Carrot Health.
The estimates are based on scientific research analyzed against the healthcare startup’s database of demographic and behavior data on every adult in the country.
Under Carrot Health’s simulations, 529,915 Tennesseans will be infected, or 10% of the total adult population. About 27,580 cases, or 5.2%, will become critical, resulting in 5,517 mortalities.
Here’s what the projections find for the five most affected counties:
| Adult population | Simulated critical cases | Simulated mortalities | |
| Shelby | 745,963 | 3,445 | 689 |
| Knox | 361,225 | 2,014 | 402 |
| Davidson | 504,611 | 1,704 | 341 |
| Hamilton | 291,970 | 1,571 | 314 |
| Sullivan | 136,685 | 1,321 | 264 |
See Carrot Health’s full Covid-19 Critical Infection Risk Dashboard here. Simulations can be adjusted based on critical infection and mortality rates.
Report says cyberattack on Knox County election website came from from foreign countries, including Ukraine
Investigators found evidence of a “malicious intrusion” into the Knox County Election Commission’s website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack as results of this month’s local primary election were being reported, reports the Associated Press.
Knox County’s probable new mayor has been a wrestling libertarian
Former professional wrestler Glenn Jacobs’ win in the Republican primary for Knox County mayor – which usually means assured victory in the general election against the Democratic nominee – has inspired the inevitable comparison with former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, who was mayor of a Minnesota town before his election as that state’s governor.
In a lengthy report on pro wrestlers as politicians, the News Sentinel says Jacobs “is expected to win handily” over Democrat Linda Haney, and includes comments from Gov. Bill Haslam (who, if Jacobs is elected in August, will be a constituent, assuming he returns to Knoxville) and a Ventura aide. Excerpt:
John Wodele was a Ventura aide serving as spokesman and political adviser for the former wrestler during his time as governor. He said people shouldn’t be surprised that wrestlers like Jacobs and Ventura have been successful.
“I mean, I would just say that in our democratic elected republic maybe it’s unusual that these wrestlers are running for office, but given the way that the WWE and other wrestling entertainment factions operate these days, they’re well-known people and they start with a base and there’s no reason they can’t run and can’t be successful,” Wodele said.
“I know a lot of people stick up their nose at wrestlers, and they did that to Ventura and he ended up looking down on them and I think that’s wonderful, I really do,” he (Jacobs) said.
…Haslam said being a mayor is an “incredibly important” position. When asked, Haslam said he’d emphasize to Jacobs that the role isn’t a political one.
“Having said that, Knox County government is like the city of Knoxville and the state of Tennessee, it’s a big service organization, we provide a lot of services to folks,” he said. “So, it’s critical that people in leadership positions understand that at the end of the day this is really not a political job. It’s about providing services all across the city or the county or the state.”
A separate article characterizes Jacobs politically as a libertarian, though he “toned down the rhetoric on the campaign trail over the past year” as compared to earlier writings and statements. And he was endorsed in his campaign by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Both were featured speakers at an event for the libertarian youth activist group Young Americans for Liberty in Atlanta last year.
“(Jacobs’) small government and pro-liberty philosophy of government – on education, the economy, regulation, taxes and more – is exactly what we need more of in our politics,” Paul said. “It’s why I think Glenn would be an excellent choice for mayor of Knox County.”
Provisional ballots add to former pro wrestler’s victory margin in Knox County GOP mayor contest
With provisional ballots counted, former professional wrestler Glenn Jacobs’ Republican primary victory in this week’s Knox County mayoral election increased from 17 votes to 23, reports the News Sentinel. Runner-up Brad Anders, a county commissioner, conceded once the final unofficial count was completed.
Cyberattack crashes Knox County Election Commission website
Knox County officials say the election commission website that displays election results crashed on Tuesday night — when tallying of local primary election results was underway — due to a “deliberate” and “widespread” cyberattack, reports the News Sentinel. A cyber security contractor is now looking into the problem.
Ex-pro wrestler ‘Kane’ wins Knox County mayor primary; state Rep. Kane loses clerk race
Glenn Jacobs, a former professional wrestler known by the stage name “Kane,” won the Republican nomination as Knox County mayor Tuesday by 17 votes, according to final unofficial returns from the county election commission. He had 14,633 votes with runner-up Brad Angiers at 14,616 and third candidate, Bob Thomas, at 11,296.
State Rep. Roger Kane (R-Knoxville), who decided to seek election as Knox Country clerk rather than another term in the state House, lost to Sherry Witt, who is currently serving as county registrar of deeds. Witt had 23,168 votes to Kane’s 14,620.
Former Sen. Campfield, former Sheriff Hutchinson seeking state House seat
Stacey Campfield, one of the state’s more controversial legislators before losing a bid for reelection to the Senate in 2014, is one of five Republicans picking up a qualifying petition to run for the state House District 89 seat that is being vacated by Rep. Roger Kane (R-Knoxville), according to the Knox County Election Commission. Another is former Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchinson.
Knox County mayor candidate arrested in California
Knox County mayoral candidate Rhonda “Mousie” Gallman is being held in a California jail on $100,000 bond after being arrested as arrested in Los Angeles on charges of preventing a witness from testifying in court, reports the News Sentinel.
Convicted former Knox trustee briefly jailed for failing to pay restitution
Former Knox County Trustee Mike Lowe was arrested Tuesday on a probation violation charge for falling behind — to the tune of $13,450 — in paying restitution to county coffers for his admitted thievery, reports the News Sentinel. He was released from jail after posting a bond of $13,450.
