Longtime political hack Buck Dozier was named the executive director of the state fairgrounds yesterday, even though he has absolutely no experience running fairs. In fact, he has no relevant experience at all to suggest he could do the job. Of course, he’s also been fire chief and run for CEO of a $1 billion-plus government, and he wasn’t qualified for those jobs either. What the fair board has done here is hire a good ol’ boy, who was most recently processing mortgages or some such, to run what amounts to a complex, multi-million-dollar business. And they couldn't even be bothered to conduct a search. But don't point the finger at Buck. Blame James Weaver, the board chair and Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis attorney who, in an interview with The Tennessean, all but characterized the failed mayoral candidate as the second coming of Robert Moses: “He's absolutely the right guy at the right time.” Oh really? Why is that? What is it about Buck's bio that would support that assertion. Hey, I've never been to law school—can Weaver make me a partner at Waller? Like Buck, I know a lot of people. I can slap 55-year-old white men on the back. I like fish fries. I can sign up to play in a church softball league. I mean, that's what it takes to be anointed to anything in Nashville, right? OK. I'm done.
