Two weeks after losing the Knox County mayor’s race, labor leader Beau Hawk has broken ground on his next campaign: Little Venezuela, a planned community of roughly 40 residents on a long-vacant mill brownfield east of downtown.
Hawk drew fire in June when it was reported he had marched in a 2020 Caracas rally in support of Nicolás Maduro, a trip he told reporters at the time was “young and dumb” and bad “when it comes to optics.” He now considers both problems solved. “I’m older, and the optics are on purpose,” he explained, raising a flag he described as legally distinct from any national banner.
Plans call for a central plaza, a mural of a jawline residents may interpret freely, and a food co-op that organizers stress will remain fully stocked “specifically to head off the comparisons.” The community currency, the bolívar-dólar, is pegged to Food City fuel points at a rate Hawk called “non-negotiable, which is the tradition.”
All community decisions will be made by resident vote. Hawk has announced he will stand unopposed for council chair, and says he has prepared for every possible outcome, “including the one from August.”
A spokesperson confirmed Mayor-elect Betsy Henderson remains “shocked,” a condition her office has maintained continuously since June.
County Commission, which this month banned data centers that no one has proposed, voted 9-0 to preemptively ban Little Venezuela as well, then voted 8-1 to unban it after a commissioner pointed out that banning things preemptively is what they do in Venezuela.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for whenever the site’s current redevelopment plan falls through, which developers confirmed is on track.