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Daily Dose for July 23, 2007
Romney Leads TN Donations, Minus Thompson
Romney Leads TN Donations, Minus Thompson -- Among the announced candidates, Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney leads in contributions from Tennesseans. Romney has raised $380,367 from Tennesseans through July 15. John Edwards leads among Democrats with $183,804, but is closely trailed by Barack Obama with $163,658. The unknown factor for Republicans, however, is former TN Sen. Fred Thompson, who by all accounts shattered Romney's fundraising with a single fundraiser with a $7,000 rake. Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser believes Thompson may have raised more than $1 million from Tennessee.
Bredesen Pay Raises Aimed at Keeping Commissioners -- Facing the prospect that some of his top Commissioners could jump ship during the rest of his term to take more lucrative jobs in the private sector, Gov. Bredesen raised the pay of several top level officials in his administration last week. But some lawmakers say the Governor never notified them of the specifics of the pay raises, even though the money was appropriated in last year's budget. State Rep. Beth Harwell: "They knew what the salary was when they took the position and to (give) a 50 to 60 percent increase I believe is a bit much."
Bredesen Ignores Own Pay Increase -- Meanwhile, Gov. Bredesen has ignored a law passed by the Legislature that increases his own pay, for fear the law might be unconstitutional. The General Assembly passed a measure increasing the Governor's salary to correspond to the State Chief Justice's pay, but a provision of the TN Constitution says that judicial pay shall not increase during a justice's term. However, the State Supreme Court has previously clarified this provision saying judicial pay increases, which are tied to the Consumer Price Index, do not violate this provision. Bredesen, a multi-millionaire, doesn't accept a salary from the state anyway, but now has more money to return.
AWOL Bill Coming Next Session -- State Reps. Richard Floyd and Gerald McCormick will sponsor legislation in the upcoming session to more strictly punish members of the TN National Guard who go AWOL. Floyd says he was inspired to sponsor the bill because of the local case. Currently, AWOL guardsmen face only a Class C misdemeanor carrying a max of 30 days and a $50.
