I am sure many of you have heard the phrase “Don’t talk about race, religion or politics”. To me this is a garbage statement meant to keep dissent down, and prevent rational conversation. It is literally something that has been burned into our minds,  but why? Often we are told these are divisive topics, however in my opinion, I truly believe we are told not to speak of these things, in order to keep the status quo of divide and conquer. If everyone openly and rationally discussed these topics, I think a lot of folks would end up learning about things that would create change in their own outlooks, and an uprising against those who divide us.

Personally I have a history in political movements, and over time my views have expanded, grown and changed. I identify as an anarchist, but have worked for change with folks from across the spectrum of politics. In fact even today, I am involved in a battle against a  new theme park that people from all political background have come together to fight the building of.

Even as an anarchist, I vote in local elections, have worked on campaigns for a variety of things, including but not limited to: open space regulations, homeless housing and services, city controller campaign, school board, and even most recently, helping push out a neighborhood council subdivision vote for Skid Row, here in Los Angeles. I wish more folks would turn off the TV, and become more engaged in their community.

One man who has decided to become more engaged in his community, is Glenn Jacobs, a man many of you sitting in front of your TV’s have known for 20 years as “Kane”.  Jacobs is running for mayor of Knox County, TN. Prior to 2013, that may have sounded ridiculous, but I have a feeling  “Corporate Kane” was created to help him to build a different public persona, (yes I know he put the mask back on in 2015/2016) though I think masked Kane, with fire and hell is way more intimidating than any politician I have seen. Last month he officially announced his candidacy for mayor, and has begun to put out promotional materials and build a platform for his campaign. This video came out two days ago wanted to embed it, but for some reason his campaign shut embedding off.  (Its like they don’t want people to see the video?)

His platform on his website is pretty simple:

As mayor, Mr. Jacobs will focus his efforts on delivering results for the citizens of Knox County. The areas below will be a major focus to help make Knox County what President Reagan referred to as “the shining city upon a hill.”

1. Committed to keeping taxes low

2. Renewed focus on quality of education

3. Continue to attract new jobs to the area

4. Improve our roads and infrastructure

5. Full and absolute transparency

6. Work to create safer communities

7. A fresh outlook on limited government

Not bad, all things that sound pretty good, but I have to wonder how he is going to create “safer communities” as Knox County only has a slightly higher than average violent and property crime rate than the rest of the USA.  Also when you look at the tax rate, their tax rate is more on par with major cities across the US, having one of the highest combined tax rates in the country totaling 9.25% when you add the 2.25% local taxes onto the statewide base of 7%. The cities operating budget for this year is $771.2 million, with a surprising 60%+ going to the schools. You can find more detailed info here, if you are so inclined. 

What is also interesting is he talks about full transparency, and limited government, as campaign points, but I have to wonder what this really means to him, as none of this is explained on his website. In fact his website doesn’t even give the date of the election, which is also rather confusing to me. It also doesn’t tell us whether he IS the Republican Candidate for Mayor, or if he needs to win a primary vote. This makes me question how serious this campaign is, if they aren’t providing important information about the election, links on how and were to vote, or other relevant info. Here is the election schedule I found online, which lists the upcoming primaries and elections.

He has filed his financial disclosure forms, in which you will see he is funding his own campaign. No big WWE money thrown at him… yet. Through my own research I found the primary vote is May 1st of 2018, and the election is August 2nd of 2018, so we have a year to watch this all play out according to this article which also talks about other potential candidates for Mayor.

So if you are a Knox County resident I implore you to really look at all the candidates, their platforms, and make an educated decision. Don’t just vote based on who you like to watch on TV, or listen to on the radio, (one of the other candidates is a radio host). Do your research, and make an informed and educated choice on who you want to run your county. And that advice goes out to everyone, no matter where you live. Do not fall for the cult of personality. Inform yourselves. Be active, get involved in your communities political processes. In order to create a world we want to see, we need to use our voices, and make a stand for what we want to see.

Lastly, this is not an endorsement, it is just a look into what Glenn Jacobs platform is. As the year progresses we will follow up with other relevant stories and info. This is just a first look into the political aspirations of a professional wrestler.