For Immediate Release June 25, 2020 Contact: Marsha Watson, KBA Executive Director (865) 522-6522
KNOXVILLE BAR ASSOCIATION RELEASES RESULTS OF CANDIDATE MEMBER SURVEY
Knoxville, Tenn.— June 25, 2020 – The Knoxville Bar Association today released the results of its Candidate Member Survey for the contested races related to the justice system on the August 6 ballot. The Survey asked each member of the Knoxville Bar Association to carefully assess whether the candidates have demonstrated the knowledge, skill, experience, training, education, professional ethics, and temperament to fulfill the duties of the offices to which they aspire. The Survey is designed to provide a measure of guidance to voters who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the candidates.
The Survey asked members to evaluate each candidate’s overall suitability for the offices of Knox County Public Defender and Knox County Law Director. Every member was asked to rate each candidate according to the following options: Strongly Recommend, Recommend, Do Not Recommend, Strongly Do Not Recommend and, Do Not Know Candidate. If an attorney did not know the candidates’ qualifications or had no opinion, he/she was instructed to mark “do not know candidate.”
“The intent is not to endorse any particular candidate, but rather to inform the public of the opinions of many of the attorneys actively practicing in East Tennessee regarding candidates’ fitness to serve in the judicial and related offices to which they are seeking election. The Knoxville Bar Association is pleased to provide this service to members of our community who have few if any encounters with the court system,” said Knoxville Bar Association President Hanson Tipton about the KBA’s Membership Survey policy. “An informed electorate is vital to the efficient administration of justice.”
The Survey was conducted electronically from June 15 to June 25, 2020. Four hundred sixty-three KBA members participated in the survey.
Knoxville Bar Association CANDIDATE MEMBER SURVEY June 15-25, 2020 Total Ballots Received: 463
Knox Co. Public Defender
Strongly Recommend
Recommend
Do Not Recommend
Strongly Do Not Recommend
Do Not Know Candidate
Weighted Average
Sherif Guindi
49
52
48
21
293
2.76
Eric M. Lutton
124
95
15
9
220
3.37
Knox County Law Director
David L. Buuck
112
121
35
34
161
3.03
Jackson M. Fenner
36
50
53
30
294
2.54
