Buuck makes appearance at Halls Republican Club

By Ken Lay

Knox County Law Director David Buuck spoke at the Halls Republican Club Tuesday night at the Halls Boys & Girls Club and, upon his arrival, he cleared up some misunderstanding about his job.

"The law director does not make policy, we're there when the county gets sued," said Buuck, who is seeking a second term as the county's law director. "People think we make policy. My opponent seems to think thinks the law director makes policy. County commissioners talk to me about the law. They don't talk to me about policy, and I would never tell anybody how to vote.

"It's the county commission that makes policy and it's the mayor that carries out that policy. Knox County is one of the counties that makes its own ordinances and we work for the taxpayers."

Buuck's opponent in the Republican Primary is former Knox County Republican Party Chairman Daniel Herrera. The winner of the primary election will run against Democrat Jackson Fenner, who ran against Buuck as an independent in 2020.

Buuck said that he is the most experienced candidate, having already served one term, and spending the previous eight years as chief deputy under former law director Bud Armstrong.

Buuck replaced Armstrong, who was term-limited and is now a Chancery Court Judge.

"I have experience," he said. "I was chief deputy for Bud, and once he was termed out, he became a Chancery Court Judge.

"I don't want to say anything bad (about Herrera), but he's been practicing law for less than three years and most of his experience is as a divorce attorney."

Buuck noted that Herrera once filed a case in federal court and that case was dismissed because he wasn't authorized to practice federal law.

Throughout his tenure as Knox County Law Director, Buuck said that he has been wrongly accused of creating case backlogs.

"That's the judges," Buuck said. "They decide what cases they want to hear, and a lot of times the other side receives continuances because they want to keep the case out of court for as long as they can."

Buuck touts his experience as law director as one of his biggest assets but also credits his staff for their work in the office.

"We have 12 qualified attorneys and my staff is familial," he said. "We talk about cases and those people have an average of 25 years practicing law. I really owe my staff for their work."

021924_KNOX FOCUS