Category Archives: Site News

A Roe-ful reminiscence

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Back before I started this blog (well, the blog that became this one) the options available to those who wanted to link to other online content in a reverse chronological format were much more limited than they are now. I had signed up for a Blogger account (before it was bought by Google) and wow, was that a frustrating application to use back then.

In the process of searching for the Chattanooga elections blog I thought might already exist, I found a site called “Chattablogs.” It was a group of blogs automagically aggregated on the front page. An invitation to create one’s very own Chattablog was posted in the upper right corner. I clicked it. The sign-up process was very manual then—and thus began my acquaintance with Josiah Roe, nearly seven years ago.

Roe and others had created and deployed this free online publishing platform as a project at Covenant College. Though it is much less in use now, back then it was somewhat of a social network as well as a blogging tool.

Roe went on to accomplish several more structurally significant things in Chattanooga. He is now leaving for San Francisco, and I’m marking his departure with a mention here of my gratitude for his support and friendship over the years. It’s not an exaggeration to say that my life would likely be very different now had he and the Chattablogs site not been there.

Here’s to much success and happiness in your new chapter, Josiah.

Tennessee Ticket Voter Guides make modest, halting return

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CHATTANOOGA—The arguably arduous task of creating comprehensive listings for all state (and some local) elections has begun with a look at the candidates for United States Senate. To date, two Republicans have announced their intent to challenge incumbent Sen. Bob Corker in the GOP primary, while no announcements have been seen from members of any other political party, nor from any independent candidates.

Future updates to these voter guides will include listings for half of the state Senate districts (hint: they are all even-numbered), all 99 state House districts, and all nine of the state’s congressional districts.

Pundits, political operatives, and election junkies are invited to (anonymously or otherwise) contribute information about potential and announced candidates, juicy news stories, and race outcome predictions (once the results of redistricting are known, of course).

Warm thanks are offered in advance to all readers, tipsters, civics hipsters, debaters, and, most of all, informed voters.

Or I’ll huff and I’ll post and I’ll blog your House race

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Even though it will be interesting to see where the time comes from, I will soon be blogging about elections and politics on three sites: here, Chattarati, and…

I have accepted an opportunity to be a “citizen journalist” for the Huffington Post, more or less with a specific assignment: the battleground race in Tennessee’s Eighth Congressional District. I’ll be writing a weekly roundup on the race and, as my schedule permits, I’ll be attending campaign-related events in the district. (I’ve only been to one spot in the whole territory, not counting driving through on I-40 a couple of times, so my geographical knowledge—what is “Hoots proper” versus “outer Hoots,” and so on—will grow over time.)

The Huffington Post (or, as we call it down at the shop, “HuffPo”) was launched by Arianna Huffington in 2005, and has quickly gained recognition and has received awards as a national leader in online journalism. It was ostensibly conceived as a progressive antidote to conservative sites like Drudge Report, but I want it to be clear that I strive to write from a nonpartisan, neutral perspective, no matter where I log in.

I’ll post more info later this week, like, where exactly on the Internet you’ll be able to find my new blog. I’m excited to be a small part of this important election cycle.

So, to get started, what do you want to see covered?

2010 Voter Guide updates

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I’ve just completed the guides for all congressional districts that have contested primaries today. The guides for Tennessee Governor, U.S. House of Representatives, state Senate, and Hamilton County races are all available in the left sidebar or via the menu bar at the top of this page.

I did not get a chance to finish documenting the primary contests in the Tennessee House of Representatives. At this point, I wouldn’t finish before the races were decided, so there’s that. It’s a shame, because there are some I wanted to highlight, like District 81, where Rory Bricco and Jim Hardin are vying to see who will take on former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh in November. There are also a few open seats, like District 18, where Rep. Stacey Campfield is running for the District 7 Senate seat. Three Republicans are running in the race to replace him: Steve Hall, Jonathan Katsiros, and Gary Loe. The winner will face Democrat Sam Alexander in November.

Other than state House, if you don’t see a district or office in the list, it’s because there is not a contested race on August 5. I realize that it’s more thorough to list all candidates, even when there is no opposition. I’ve taken the most practical approach I could muster, given time constraints. Thanks for understanding.

I’m cooking up a whole new approach for presenting this information for the November elections. Stay tuned, and thanks for your continued support.

Join me on wrcbtv.com for election night coverage

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Do not adjust your television set. The images you are about to see may be disturbing to some viewers.

Updates have been made to this post to clarify that the program will be a webcast, not a broadcast.

I’ve been invited to participate in Thursday night’s election coverage on WRCB-TV, Channel 3′s website, wrcbtv.com. A panel comprising veteran anchor/reporter David Carroll, Chattanooga Times Free Press managing editor Larry Henry, and myself will comment on the state primary and county general election results.

The panel coverage is expected to begin at 9:30 p.m. (EDT). I am grateful and humbled to be a part of this important night, and I thank the team at Channel 3 for the invitation.

In addition, beginning at 8:00 p.m. you’ll be able to follow local election coverage live on the Web, courtesy of the crew at chattarati.com. I’ll try to make it to as many watch parties as I can, before and after the television appearance.

Of greatest importance: if you did not vote early, and are eligible, please vote on Thursday. You don’t want to be left out of the conversation, do you?