In a special session Monday night, the City Council approved an amendment to the city’s capital project budget, giving the okay to $32 million in new debt and $39 million in re-structured debt for development of Mayor Johnny Piper’s proposed marina, water park and other Fairgrounds “development.” The debt package would extend loans through 2027.

In fact, the “done deal” marina has spurred boats sales, or the illusion and suggestion of boat sales, including the collage of watercraft already on display in a Riverside Drive dealer’s lot and another boat display/storage area strategically poised on the concrete slab that once housed the Fairground Pavilion.

Councilors Wallace Redd, Marc Harris and Wayne Harrison opposed the amendment, with Harris lobbying for a 30-day stay on this vote, a move that would have allowed new city councilors a say in a development project that will, in January, fall under their purview. Not all the new councilors support the marina; the current council make-up was a guaranteed win for marina advocates.

What consideration has been given to traffic flow problems on access roads (state highways) to the new development have been elaborated on. Clarksville already has significant traffic flow issues including along Riverside Drive, and water park/marina development will magnify those issues as well for the people who live, work in or travel that area.

As the new council oversees future development of the marina and the Cumberland as a recreational waterway, it is hoped that among their concerns they will consider the overwhelming noise pollution generated by powerboats and jet skis — the latter can equal the output of a racetrack in one’s back yard. The amount of oil and gasoline residue that seeps from vehicles such as jet skis, particularly older models, is a serious pollutant on many waterways; newer models have adapted to stricter EPA standards. In many forward-thinking states these “toys” have been banned on small lakes and rivers because of the noise, noise pollution, and pollution issues, and earth-friendly reclaiming of rivers and streams — or at least, do no further harm — is the most important priority.

Given that the city for years has endured the stench of wastewater treatment permeating the downtown business and residential district, it would behoove the new council to address that that issue in tandem with any new downtown and riverfront development.

If the current administration is hellbent on this form of development, it is incumbent on the next City Council to be proactive in protecting the natural resources that run through Clarksville, and ensuring that within this development, there are ample protections for the water, the shoreline and the abutting homes and businesses (including new residential development). Or hope that the pollution just runs downstream…rendering it NIMB (Not In My Backyard).

Tennessee stayed Red, selecting John McCain as its presidential choice over Barack Obama, 30,167 to 25,702, a disappointment to the Clarksville for Obama organization, which ran a strong and well-organized Democratic effort on Obama’s behalf.

Republican Lamar Alexander retained his U.S. Senate Seat handily with 32,006 over his closest challenger, Democrat Robert D. Tuke, with 16,329.

Marsha Blackburn (R) comfortably held her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, 22,573 to 13,150 over challenger Randy G. Morris.

John Tanner held his U.S. House of Representatives 8th District seat with 97% of the vote, or 6,420 votes.

Democratic Challenger Tim Barnes took the District 22 State Senate Seat, ousting incumbent Rosalind Kurita, 27,996 to 15,700.

Joe Pitts easily retained his Tennessee House of Representatives 67th District seat with 12,519 votes (97,26%).

Tennessee House of Representatives 68th District seat was retained by Curtis Johnson with 18,172 votes (97.94%).

The much touted Wheel Tax Referendum was soundly defeated, 32,924 to 18,353.

With 99.085 (28,282 votes), Judge Charles Smith retained his judiciary seat.

City Council races are as follows:

Ward 3: James Lewis, 1243; Vincent S. Kruk 345.

Ward 4: Wallace Redd, 1358; Edward Fowler, 672.

Ward 5: Candy Johnson, 1501; Gary K. Brown, 611, Aaryn Coyle, 268.

Ward 8: David Allen, 2517;  Jim Doyle, 1359, David Cutting, 633.

Ward 9: Joel Wallace, 2035.

Ward 12: Jeff Burkhart, 2297; Wayne Harrison, 1981.

Statewide, the senate district 22 race was viewed as a bellweather for future political upheaaval. Many early voters were repulsed by the last minute negative advertising of the incumbent. Now there is a recount challenge and accusations of voter misdirection. Did someone take a page from the Karl Rove ‘Book of Dirty Tricks?’ How will all this play out in the end?

This year, the state senate race for District 22 was one of the most closely watched battles in the state. Media and political pundits all across the state were keen to see if incumbent Rosalind Kurita would survive the intra-party effort of her own Democratic Party to unseat her in retaliation for her betrayal vote in January 2007 which gave control of the state senate to the Republican Party. Would Lt. Governor Ramsey’s fundraising encouragement save the day?

Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Memphis political insiders and pundits were all speculating that her party affiliation switch was inevitable, no matter what the outcome of this election. This battle alone had marked Tennessee as a ‘State in Contention’ for the November election.

Kurita was known to be a aggressive, hardball campaigner. That is a given when one reviews her previous campaigns against Brenda Radford and Wallace Redd. However, many opined that a new low was reached when in the final two weeks of the campaign, character assassination material against challenger Tim Barnes repeatedly starting filling voters mailboxes. These colorful over-sized supercards seriously misrepresented Barnes’ law practice and principles.

The smears were so detestable that on election day, thirty-eight Clarksville lawyers placed a full page ad in the Leaf Chronicle denouncing Kurita for the smear and demanded she apologize for the misrepresentations. Attorney Mark Olson wrote a separate letter ridiculing the senator’s serious apparent lack of basic understanding of our legal system. He called her actions, “shameful, and beneath the dignity, and the honor, of a Tennessee Senator.” Even the Nashville Bar Association took note of the ad as “regrettable.”

As a state senator, she, herself, is a lawmaker. Lawyers work to enforce those laws enacted by the legislature. Thus, the lawyers contend that her assault on Barnes invariably was an assault on her own lawmaking role as well.

Winning by the slim margin of 19 votes, what acts of contrition will she offer? Many early voting supporters were embarrassed by the last minute smear campaign against Tim Barnes. Currently, everyone is awaiting the results of a recount and an investigation of alleged voter misdirection. Will she seek to mend broken fences with her fellow Democrats? Will she fulfill East Tennessee political pundits predictions and finally switch to the State Republican Party? Will she apologize to the legal community for so negatively savaging the legal profession? Thus far, no “mea culpas” have not been forthcoming. At least, not publicly.

Noting that so many of her fellow legislative colleagues are, themselves, lawyers or have close associations with lawyers, should she prevail in the recount, her return to the state senate chamber should prove rather interesting indeed, to say the least.