The Tampa Tribune's Kathy Steele reports the sad news that Moses Knott Jr., who regularly attended Tampa City Council meetings for over 30 years, died on February 3 at the age of 74.
Knott Jr. was a voice for the voiceless and less powerful at City Hall. I covered City Council meetings virtually every Thursday morning when I first came to Tampa as a reporter in 2000, and what I'll always remember about him is how a lot of people who represented various parts of the business community would listen to him and initially not pay him much attention. But then more often than not they would become transfixed by his delivery, or more often than not, crack up at some of his comments.
Certainly not everything he said was always cogent or vital — but often it was. And he always began every time he reached the dais with his trademark, "I thank God for his grace and his mercy."
Back in 2005, Janet Zink of the St Pete Times wrote a great piece on him in the City Times section of the St. Pete Times that you can read here.
He will be greatly missed.
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2011.