Shopper News blog: This is not a test: He's serious about sirens

Tyler Whetstone and Monica Kast | Knoxville

Calvin Mattheis, calvin.mattheis@knoxnews.com

Eddie Mannis and Indya Kincannon will be squaring off in November to become the next mayor of Knoxville after the two bested a crowded field Tuesday night, according to unofficial returns.

The conservative businessman had little trouble. He jumped out to a big 1,200 vote lead after early voting totals were announced. The gap only widened from there. He finished with 7,005 votes.

Mannis took time, nearly 15 minutes, thanking supporters, laying out his vision and giving his well-used stump speech.

“It’s been a phenomenal ground operation that you normally don’t see in a mayoral election and I’m so proud of the team for all of their hard work,” he said.

Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel

“As you’ve seen from the screens here this evening, that work has paid off,” he continued. “I’m so humbled that the voters of the city of Knoxville have shown their confidence in the blueprint I’ve been laying out for the city’s growth and development.”

Kincannon, for her part, rebounded after being down roughly 60 votes, surpassing the two-term city-wide Councilman Marshall Stair. At the end of the night, Stair fell shy of Kincannon's 5,568 votes. He finished with 5,158 votes.

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During her speech, Kincannon recalled finishing second in a school board race before working hard and winning the general. She expects a repeat of that performance.

View | 96 Photos

Knoxville city election day in pictures

“I think this is a big picture campaign about the future of Knoxville," she said in an interview after the results were in. "I would listen and people like how I listen, but I also have some solutions ... We want to have a vibrant economy and still not lose what makes Knoxville Knoxville.”

Michael Andrews, Fletcher Burkhardt and Calvin Skinner totaled less than 10% of votes.

The November race to replace the term-limited Madeline Rogero is expected to be the most anticipated city general election since 2003, when Bill Haslam defeated Rogero.

Eddie Mannis

Total votes: 7,005

Mannis is a fiscally conservative businessman with 34 years operating Prestige Cleaners. He is chairman of the Metropolitan Airport Authority board and founder and chairman of HonorAir Knoxville. He is also the former chief operating officer and deputy to Rogero.

View | 36 Photos

Eddie Mannis through the years

Indya Kincannon

Total votes: 5,568

Kincannon was a Knox County School Board member from 2004 to 2014 where she was chair for three years. She worked on Rogero’s staff for a time, serving as the city director, where she acted as a liaison for the 2020 U.S. Census, among other things.

View | 36 Photos

Knoxville mayoral candidate Indya Kincannon

Marshall Stair

Total votes: 5,158

Stair has spent the last eight years serving as an at-large city councilman where he supported the city’s revamped sign ordinance in 2015, sidewalk projects throughout and Recode Knoxville most recently, among other things. He is a lawyer, by trade, who focuses on civil litigation.

View | 20 Photos

Knoxville mayoral candidate Marshall Stair

Fletcher Burkhardt

Total votes: 591

Burkhardt is a self-described social media specialist. This was his first time running for office. He has been self-employed for six years helping companies brand themselves and has had a message of people over politics.

Calvin Skinner

Total votes: 493

Skinner is a Knoxville native who worked in community development in Philadelphia, leadership development in Washington, D.C., and was focused on affordable living and jobs.

Michael Andrews

Total votes: 301

Andrews is a licensed barber at Obsidian Barber Shop and Beauty Salons who said he entered the mayoral race prayerfully after feeling like God called upon him to run. He ran to support complete inclusion, listening to a number of voices to make decisions that support the whole community.

What happens next?

The final day to register to vote for the general election (what the city calls the “regular election” will be Oct. 7.

Early voting will begin Oct. 16 and run through Oct. 31.