Piper’s Platform for Change

Citizen Driven Government

Knox County Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that voters impact the direction of public policy. This can be accomplished through three vehicles: improved nepotism and conflict of interest policies, government transparency and public involvement.

Nepotism, Ethics and Conflict of Interest

The proper operation of democratic government requires that public officials and employees are independent and responsible to the people; that government decisions and policy be made in proper channels of the government structure; that public office not be used for personal gain; and that the public have confidence in the integrity of its government (Code of Ethics, South Carolina).

Knox County is on the right track with creating an Ethics Commission. I support a highly organized Ethics Commission responsible for administering our Ethics policy and handling grievances.

Monitoring compliance with contracting rules, detecting waste, fraud and abuse can be achieved by utilizing an independent auditor to hold Knox County accountable for being good stewards of your tax dollars.

Government Transparency

Residents in the Second District pay double taxes. It’s about time we provide you the opportunity to see what you get for your money and supply an outlet to suggest changes.

Let’s start with the basics.

Move Commission meetings to the evenings, when working people can attend or watch them on TV or the web.

Provide a complete list of contact information for Commissioners on the website and in the Commission Office. Constituents must know how to reach their Commissioners in order for our needs to be represented.

Increase access to the details of county government in a variety of different means provides voters with a certain level of trust that government is working in our interest.

We can better utilize www.knoxcounty.org by streaming public meetings on the web, offering access to more public documents and services.

Currently, Commission meetings are only available on Comcast Cable. I proposed we open dialogue with other cable TV providers so everyone can watch our public meetings if they so choose.

Create a citizen ombudsman or citizen advocate to provide an avenue for residents to suggest improvements or register complaints about government operations. This office is charge with resolving your complaint, not merely connecting you to the County Department with the most knowledge about your concern.

The goal of an ombudsman is to improve government satisfaction, services and increase connectivity between citizen need and government services.

I fully support the creation of citizen’s academy and will encourage Knox County to support local non-profits in their quest to create citizen academies. Increasing understanding of government has the potential to increase communication with, discussion about and involvement with government.

Public Involvement

I pledge to represent the needs of my constituents first and foremost and engage our community in decisions that affect our lives.

One of the best ways for you to get involved is to vote. I support the location of polling places that are easy and convenient for you to reach. I respect your right to vote and will never engage in any activity that would result in closing down a polling location, like my opponent has done at Knoxville Center Mall.

I am holding regular office hours during my campaign for residents to voice their concerns. I will have an open door policy with our community so I can listen to your concerns and focus on solutions to improve our neighborhoods.

To regain Knox Countains’ trust and control of our government, we must provide the public the ability to have more of a say in decisions that affect our lives with formal governmental processes. We should consider expanding the use of referendum and formal petitioning process to recall decisions made by our body of government if they do not meet the needs of our people.

I offer the creation of citizen boards for priority issues in Knox County. These committees will be charged with overseeing the implementation of current policies and planning the future direction of our County.

My goal is to make it easy for you to participate in decisions that affect our lives and shape direction of public policy.