Daily Dose for March 31, 2006

Daily Dose

McMillan Out -- Political pundits across the state are still in shocked to hear the news that State Rep. and Democratic Majority Leader Kim McMillan will not seek reelection. McMillan told the Leaf Chronicle that she would seek bigger and better things after 12 years of service in the General Assembly. That could mean an appointment to a Commissioners spot in the Bredesen administration, if Bredesen is reelected in the fall. Rumored candidates to replace McMillan include her own endorsement of Downtown District Partnership Chairman Joe Pitts, a Democrat, and Republican City Councilman Wallace Redd and businesswoman Lori Turner.

Bill Would Block Captiol Protests -- Sen. Charlotte Burks has sponsored a bill in the state Senate that would allow the Speaker of the House and Lt. Governor to order the Tennessee Highway Patrol to remove protestors from Legislative Plaza and the State Capitol. The Senate bill passed unanimously, but it has not yet been taken up in the House. Anti-tax group Tennessee Tax Revolt has come out against the bill. Ben Cunningham, leader of the group told the Tennessean, "Just because members of the General Assembly and some of the staff were inconvenienced, that is not a valid reason to restrict the citizenry." Blogger Mark Rose has said the act is unconstitutional.

Election Commission Can't Remove Ineligible Names -- State election chief Brook Thompson said Shelby County cannot legally remove longtime commission incumbents Walter Bailey and Cleo Kirk, both Democrats, from the ballot, even though they are disqualified from running because of a state Supreme Court ruling, because the election is less than 40 days away. "The election code does not provide for any alteration of the ballot within 40 days of an election," Thompson said. The same quandry also exists in Knox County, where the consequences are even more dire -- 2/3rds of the County Commission are ineligible to be reelected. There, Commissioners running for reelection are not sure how to categorize campaign expenses or whether or not to continue to accept contributions - others complain about disenfranchisement because it remains uncertain whether the qualifying deadline will be reopened for other candidates to emerge.

Cooper Ethics Complaint Dropped -- A Senate ethics subcommittee has recommended dropping an ethics complaint against Sen. Jerry Cooper for his role in obtaining a state-approved grant and loan for a sawmill he owned. The panel did not look however in the subsequent sale of the sawmill, which is now subject to a criminal trial. The complaint was dropped after the committee interviewed former state officials including former Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Baxter.

Bryson for Governor? -- State Sen. Jim Bryson said he is close to making an announcement about running for Governor, but doesn't want to run against retiring Congressman Bill Jenkins, also mentioned as a candidate. Jenkin's wife has discouraged him from running for Governor, so Bryson seems to be the likely candidate. Sen. Bryson told the Nashville City Paper he will have a decision on Monday or Tuesday.

Phillips In -- Former Tennessee Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips announced Thursday he'll seek the 7th House District seat held by one-term incumbent Matthew Hill. Phillips a Democrat who announced his candidacy in front of supporters outside the Jonesborough Visitors Center, pledged to run a positive campaign "on what I can do and what I can bring back to Washington County." Phillips resigned from the TN Safety Commissioners post after the controversy in the Tennessee Department of Saftey earlier this year, in which troopers shown to have given political contributions to the Democratic administration were given fast-tracked promotions.

Dean Given Caretaker Seat -- The Hamilton County Commission on Thursday morning unanimously chose East Ridge Mayor Vince Dean as the replacement for Jack Sharp in House District 30. Dean will retire from the Chattanooga Police Force to serve, but remains undecided on remaining East Ridge Mayor. State law allows state legislators to hold local office in addition to their General Assembly seats. Dean will serve in the seat until the November election, in which he is running.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |