How All of This Started... Part I
If you listen to Louise Povlin and her attack dogs, you will think I am a homicidal maniac who moved here to destroy this place. Do not allow this PR campaign to distract you from what is actually going on here.
They do not want you to know the truth about what they have been doing to this community.
How all this started and what I have learned reflecting on it is the focus of this post.
In early 2021, I received a flyer at my home discussing a thousand apartments to be built on Biddle Farms. There was a rally protesting this coming up.
I attended and listened to the speakers and thought to myself, this does not feel right. I met Mike Wilson afterwards and he spent a great deal of his time explaining what goes on around here. I walked away from the conversation knowing something was not right here. I have been involved in politics for almost 20 years and can spot problems and nonsense from a mile away.
Not too long afterwards, I met Mike Mitchell. I was initially very unsure of him. However after listening to what he said and verifying some things he said, I realized my initial response was wrong. Mike is absolutely spot on. He along with Mike Wilson and Pat Lee have done this community a great service.
Not too long after this, I started asking questions in FCRGD’s (Farragut Citizens for Responsible Growth and Development) Facebook group. Keep in mind, I have been very politically active since 2007 and been a locally elected to office.
Then came Farragut Alderman Scott Meyer who was the first person I recall posting about my false arrest in CT. I thought why would a local elected official have that information and why would he post it in a Facebook group.
To be clear here, all charges were nolled ironically the same day the CT Supreme Court overturned that the law I was arrested for. There was never a crime and never any valid justification for the charges. If you do a background check on me, you will see I have no record.
Scott nor any of Louise Povlin’s goons have ever asked me about any of this. This includes: her husband Jay Povlin, Jeanne Brykalski, Dana Nance, Nancy Bolon, Kristi King, John Barr, Eric Whitener (owner of Knox Fox Realty), Jeremy Krahl, Jenni Craddick, Joe LaCroix (former Farragut IT person), Rich Crompton, Sue-Ann Hansler, Michele Hollenhead (former reporter for the Farragut Press) or Ron Williams. I think I have them all.
Ask yourself why would anyone do a deep dive on someone moving here and spread it all around the Internet? And then never ask me directly what the real story is?
The obvious answer is they do not care about the truth, which is obvious given how they have acted. Louise Povlin, Ron Williams, and their attack dogs have shown they will use any necessary level of violence and intimidation to silence dissent. I have dealt with these types more than once. The nastier they are, the more they have to hide. And they have a lot to hide. More on this later.
One of the most dangerous people to allow in elected office is someone who craves power and control. That is Louise Povlin for you and she is the “brains” of the operation. Ron Williams likes being seen as important. His wife introduces herself as the mayor’s wife. These types get involved in politics for all the wrong reasons. They rule over us like an out-of-control homeowner’s association.
The reason they are so off-the-charts abusive with me is the bad actors know I am effective in exposing and stopping nonsense. Jay Povlin, the emasculated beta male husband of Louise Povlin, has stated in public more than once that he called people in my former state and inquired about me. You will see later that Louise Povlin admitted she did this as well in the March 24, 2022 BoMA meeting.
Do you think it is appropriate for Jay and Louise to contact people in a place I left years ago and then state their findings in public? Sounds like the Gestapo to me.
I met Jay Povlin when I used his and Louise’s Anytime Fitness for 3 weeks after moving here. I was dissatisfied with how he maintained the gym and moved to a further away location. Jay has never once asked me for my side on anything that went on in my former state. He has no desire to learn the truth, just marginalize, attack, and intimidate me into silence. I guess he did not ask the right questions when he called residents of former town. They would have told him I do not back down.
So let’s pause here for a moment.
Someone moves to Farragut from outside the area and does what any responsible citizen does: educate themselves on the community.
Instead of being welcomed, the people running the town do a deep dive into said person’s background and plaster everywhere what they found without ever asking said person for his side of the matter.
This is not East Tennessee values.
The next big move took place at the March 24, 2022 BoMA meeting.
First came my letter to the Farragut Press.
Let’s discuss the issues I presented with some context and commentary.
It is highly unusual for a town to propose major zoning changes without someone filling out an application. I have served on my local zoning commission in my former hometown.
As we see now, there is a deliberate and collaborated effort to turn the Town of Farragut into the City of Farragut. One way this can be done is the town changes zoning regulations to sculpt the place into how they want it.
The other problem in doing this is you want transparency in who is behind a zoning request and what their intentions are. Someone should apply to make a major change on a property.
My concern here is changing zoning on a property to something that later on will allow an easy and quick application to put high density housing.
A governing body is supposed to be neutral and balance the rights of existing developed property and property owners who want to develop their property. The Farragut Aldermen, by leading the charge to make major changes, are giving the impression they are trying to pick winners and losers.
This statement says it in a nutshell. Perception is reality in life and politics.
Vice Mayor Louise Povlin stated “… on Watt Road, do we really want another tire store?” It is neither her’s nor the Aldermen’s job to decide whether a business can exist or where it sets up. If the location can handle the activity on it, without significantly disrupting the neighbors and area in general, it should be approved.
This is one of Ron and Louise’s biggest problems. They view their job as to rule over us. They are actually stewards of the town, and have done a horrible job of being one. Drew Burnette has been in office for 6 years. He has voted with Ron, Louise, and Scott Meyer every time. There are 2 exceptions that I know of. While he is not nasty like the other 3, he has voted for a number of the bad things going on.
Update: There have been more than 2 times that Drew has not voted with Ron Williams and Louise Povlin. This last paragraph has been edited as well.
There are clear standards for land use and Farragut has not and does not follow them. Existing property owners have rights and radically altering the area around them violates those rights. These are not my opinions, they are fact based on decades of case law. Louise Povlin has to know this and my speaking out, with the knowledge of how things are supposed to work, plus the track record of fighting against government abuse put her in full panic mode.
The second thing is to properly balance property rights of existing properties against the rights of undeveloped properties. For example, Alderman Povlin referenced the situation with (First) Baptist Church (Concord) wanting to install lights on their sports fields. The lights and resulting activity would be a major change of use. The lights would brighten up a normally dark area. The church can also hold events much later into the night, which would also disrupt the neighboring residences.
This is another huge problem for the Farragut Regime. They have not balanced property rights. They have given what big money developers want, as has Knox County among many other municipalities in Tennessee. And the worst part of it is these subsidized apartments use our tax dollars.
My impression after listening to comments from our Aldermen is they do not understand the proper role of government, as I have discussed here.
Later in this article, you will hear what Ron Williams and Louise Povlin said at the March 24, 2022 BoMA meeting about this.
Alderman Povlin also stated “the Town of Farragut is often the applicant for changes.” Just because it has been done this way, does not mean it is the right way. That attitude in corporate America will get someone fired on the spot.
These statements cemented my status as Public Enemy Number One. Petty tyrants do not tolerate anyone disagreeing with them. You can be sure of a few things in life:
If you have great ideas, you will gladly defend them in the public realm.
Those who do not, like Louise Povlin who posts on Next Door and then closes the comments, will not defend their positions.
This leads into the March 24, 2022 BoMA meeting.
Keep in mind when reading that I had pulled a petition to run for Mayor before this meeting occurred.
Also, keep in mind moving forward here that my letter in the Farragut Press was released the same day as the BoMA meeting. For Ron and Louise to have known about it, they either had to have read it that morning or been given it in advance. It is highly likely that the latter occurred here.
***Note that you will see certain words below underlined. This takes you to where in the meeting the comments were said so you can verify what was said.***
Under the Mayor’s Comments, Ron Williams said the following:
"From time to time we have folks move into our town from far away places like Connecticut and California. Many times they will attend our board and planning meetings and mention we do not do things like they did back home. This is very common..."
“After attending one meeting to have the impression that we do not understand the proper role of government is just an unfounded opinion…”
Notice how defensive Farragut Mayor Ron Williams is with his comments. He is immediately out there attempting to marginalize not only me but my letter. Did you catch when he said after “attending one meeting”? This is an attempt to discredit me personally.
He and you will find out shortly immediately went into public relations mode. How dare a carpetbagger (which Ron has repeatedly called me when I am not around) come here and have any ideas or thoughts about how our community can be better!
Remember, at the time, I was the only declared candidate running against Ron Williams for Mayor.
Then comes Vice Mayor Alderman Louise Povlin’s turn to speak.
Louise states Farragut staffs leanly. Really? They have a PR person who posts all over social media spreading their talking points and propaganda. The town has enough money to hire Gestapo enforcement officers who drive around looking for violations to harass people with. Plus the town hires deputies to sign off on the town’s illegal red light tickets. To say Farragut is lean is to say Lizzo is anorexic.
After a brief report, Alderman Louise Povlin begins to speak again.
The letter to the editor in today’s Farragut Press contained misinformation that needs to be addressed. I hope to provide some clarity and information about the Town of Farragut…
Notice that Louise Povlin immediately goes on the attack, as Ron Williams did. She speaks for a number of minutes and I am not clear what she actually said. It sounds good and intelligent, but is all frosting, no cupcake.
Normal, competent, and emotionally secure people would never handle this the way Ron and Louise did.
Louise Povlin stated: We cannot do anything that we do not have statutory authority from the State of Tennessee to do.
This statement is false. Farragut fines residents and businesses more than the Constitutionally protected $50 a day without a jury trial all the time. Article VI, Section 14 states:
No fine shall be laid on any citizen of this State that shall exceed fifty dollars, unless it shall be assessed by a jury of his peers, who shall assess the fine at the time they find the fact, if they think the fine should be more than fifty dollars.
After that verbose rant by Louise Povlin, she then went into discussing how other municipalities in TN do things. That part of her words starts here.
Earlier this week, I took the time to reach out to planners in the City of Alcoa and Maryville…
Given the Farragut Press is released on Wednesdays, how did Louise Povlin know to reach out earlier in the week? Sounds like someone in the Farragut Press leaked my letter.
Louise Povlin then states that staff in Alcoa and Maryville initiate the majority of their zoning changes. Guess this makes it okay that someone else does it. By now you are probably asking why a single letter would elicit such a response from Louise Povlin. Why does she take so much effort to prove she is right?
Next Louise Povlin discusses that she called the town planner in Woodbury, CT. Why would she call a place 800 miles away? Well, that is where I lived until 2017 and where I was elected in office. So how did Louise Povlin know where I lived? I have never spoken directly to her. I most certainly did not share that with her.
Next Louise Povlin states the town of Farragut is subject to the Constitution of the State of Tennessee. As stated above, the town violates the TN Constitution by unlawfully fining residents and businesses more than the $50 allowed.
To insinuate that we in the Town of Farragut are somehow doing something wrong because it is not how it is done in Connecticut is irresponsible.
This statement ends Louise’s diatribe. I never claimed that Farragut should follow what is done in Connecticut. You can read my letter here.
Then in wrapping up her comments, Louise states:
And that is all I had time to work on for that particular letter to the editor and we’ll try to address the other issues in a follow-up letter to the editor in next week’s paper.
That letter came signed by Ed St. Clair. I do not believe for a second he wrote this. This letter sounds just like Louise Povlin and remember her comments at the March 24th BoMA “we’ll try to address the other issues in a follow-up letter to the editor in next week’s paper.”
Is the tone and content of this letter consistent with East Tennessee values?
I will pick up in part II the rest of the BoMA meeting from March 24, 2022. I want to give some perspective on what was actually said and what it means.
First, I think the only reasonable conclusion is someone at the Farragut Press gave a copy of my letter to Ron Williams and/or Louise Povlin. Louise would have to have spent hours gathering the information that she mentioned at the BoMA meeting. I would not be surprised because the Farragut Press has been a PR wing for Ron and Louise for years. Michele Hollenhead, a former Farragut Press reporter, was in my opinion clearly biased towards Ron and Louise. She is one of their biggest cheerleaders after leaving the Press, which I am sure was not voluntarily. There are numerous emails that have been acquired by open records requests confirming this belief.
Second, look at how Ron and Louise reacted to my letter. One aspect of this is their inability to receive any criticism. Louise Povlin is the most thin skinned elected official I have ever cross paths with.
The other part of their reaction was because they were nervous that I would find out what they were up to. It took a while, but I eventually figured it out. Biddle Farms has numerous legal issues with it: illegal zone change, the change is spot zoning (changing one property to be radically different than surrounding ones), which is also illegal, the town lied to FEMA on what they were doing, allowed the apartments to be built over a flood ridgeway (meaning it will create drainage issues), and the project received a multi-million dollar grant from the county for a brownfield (meaning contaminated dirt like from a leaking oil tank) yet the EPA has stated in writing there are no brownfields in Farragut.
The real story here is Mike Mitchell, Mike Wilson, and Pat Lee were correct about how there are major issues with Biddle Farms. They were absolutely correct that something was not on the up and up. The magnitude of the problem is substantially more than anyone could have dreamed of.
After Joe Biden assumed office in 2021, he continued Barack Obama’s desire to destroy the American suburbs. They have used multiple avenues to do this. One of them is COVID relief money. Another has been done through the USDA.
The real story here is the marriage of big government, handout accepting builders, and political leftists who all have gotten together to destroy the suburbs. They are using our money and well-connected builders are making a fortune off of all of this and destroy what is now the City of Farragut.
Biddle Farms is one of the places this has gone on.
Louise Povlin and company freaked out when they learned about my past and how I have taken on and defeated corrupt elected officials. They realized I would find out what they were up to and not let it go. They were right.
They had to do whatever they needed to in order to discredit me. That did not work, so they upped the violence, intimidation, and weaponization of the courts against me.
I try and meet new people weekly. I am amazed at how many people know how messed up Farragut is. They just did not believe anything could or would be done about it.
I am here to tell you that you need to have hope again. Bill Johns came within 58 votes of becoming Mayor in 2022. Ron Williams clinched victory by repeatedly and illegally campaigning inside Town Hall during early voting and then making up the story I tried to run him over with my vehicle.
You vote in Drew Burnette and Jeff Devlin and you will get more of the same that has turned Farragut into an urban center.
You have a choice to vote Alex Cain and Randal Roberts in. They do not support this nonsense.
In 2022, Ward II chose David White and he has proven to be as promised.
I will pick up on the rest of the infamous Gavel Gate meeting (March 24, 2022) in Part II of this.
©2024 Citizen Monitor™. All rights reserved
All Citizen Monitor work may not be reproduced without written permission in advance. We retain all rights to our work.