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Daily Dose for February 20, 2006
Daily Dose
What Happened to the Marriage Amendment? -- With the controversy of Tennessee Waltz, some political observers have lost sight of what was a big issue before that news broke -- the amendment to the Tennessee constitution set to be on the ballot this year defining marriage between a man and a woman and prohibiting homosexual marriage. Some might remember that the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the amendment being placed on the ballot on the grounds that the constitutional requirement that the public be informed of the ballot intiative in the newspapers was not satisfied. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that lawsuit is still in Chancery Court in Davidson County. If the lawsuit is unsuccessful, however, the ACLU and other groups fighting the amendment will have no limit to what they can spend. The same goes for the religious groups likely to urge its passage. Since Buckley v. Valeo, ballot intiatives are the golden kettle of campaign financing -- with unlimited individual and PAC contribution limits. Dr. Larry Woods, a political science professor at Tennessee State University, says he's changed his mind on how the amendment will affect turnout. He now says the amendment won't drive turnout among religious conservatives as much as he previously anticipated because people generally expect the amendment to pass overwhelmingly.
Bredesen Fundraiser Target of Another FBI Probe -- A Bredesen fundraiser in Cocke County in East Tennessee, has been characterized as perhaps one of the most dangerous criminals to lock horns with the FBI. Harold Eugene Grooms was implicated in a massive marijuana trafficking operation in 2000. Since then he has been under intense scruity in an FBI investigation known as Operation Rose Thorn. Last month Grooms' home was raided as a part of the FBI investigation, although reports of the result of the raid remain under seal. Grooms has conducted numerous fund-raising efforts in support of Governor Bredesen, donating at least $10,000 of his own money and raising large sums of cash on the governor's behalf, records show. Bredesen attended an Aug. 31, 2004, re-election fund-raiser at Grooms' home in Newport where at least $33,530 was raised for his re-election campaign. One $500 gift was made in the name of H-1 Auto Parts on Willis Road, a junkyard that had been the target of a federal search warrant six months earlier and whose operator, Raymond Hawk, is a convicted car thief and target of the Rose Thorn probe. A man named Kenneth Frazier also donated $5,000 at the event. According to the FBI, Frazier is the name of the owner of the 440 Cockfight Pit, which is one of two illegal cockfighting operations that have played key roles in the Rose Thorn investigation.
Run For Reelection, Lose Your Pension -- As a part of the recently passed ethics bill, incumbent legislators who choose to run again for office could lose their pensions if they are convincted in Operation Tennessee Waltz. Kathryn Bowers and Ward Crutchfield could both lose their pensions if they are found guilty in their Waltz trails, but still choose to run again for office. The law was written to require legislators to agree each time they are elected to waive their pension rights if they are ever convicted of a felony related to malfeasance in office. Fellow Waltzers John Ford and Roscoe Dixon will receive his pension anyway, because they left office before the ethics bill was passed.
Davidson Won't Run -- State Rep. Gene Davidson (D-Adams) announced Thursday he would not seek re-election this year, ending a run of 32 years in the state legislature. Davidso represents part of Robertson County.
Sunshine Bill Comes Up -- House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Joe Fowlkes has sponsored a bill that would change the state's sunshine laws to open more meetings to public inquiry. The bill also would clarify rules for when and how governments can hold a closed meeting, how notice of meetings should be given, and what activities constitute an official meeting. "They think business can be done more efficiently with the doors closed. Of course, I disagree with them," said Fowlkes, a Democrat from Pulaski.
Trooper Investigation Took No Notes -- Speaking of meetings that have been, shall we say sub rosa, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that the in the intial investigation into the Trooper-gate scandal in the State Department of Safety took no notes and made no recordings. Interim Safety Commissioner Gerald Nicely has ordered five investigations redone -- this time to take notes and make recordings.
Cotton Guilty -- Jurors in the trial of William Cotton returned a guilty verdit on Friday of last week on two of the three counts. Cotton was found guilty on one count of conspiring to commit extortion and one count of attempting to commit extortion and not guilty on a second attempted extortion charge. Cotton will likely get three years in jail for his role in Operation Tennessee Waltz, according to reports. The Chattanooga Pulse blog has reaction from the attorneys who argued the case and the jurors who handed down the verdit. Now that Cotton has been found guilty, Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Stuart James said he should resign.
Election Theme 2006 -- Check out Joe Lance's cover story in last week's Chattanooga Pulse (sorry I missed it before). Lance writes about a theme I have explored briefly, namely that in 2006 ethics will be the theme of elections at the local, state, and national level.
