TennWatch/Volitics

Bowers is Her Own Worst Enemy

TN Senator Kathryn Bowers (Democrat), indicted for taking $11,500 in bribes as a result of the Tennessee Waltz sting, had a really bad day today.

First, she officially took her name off the November ballot (all the while denying that it is because she's going to plead guilty to the corruption charges). Then she got arrested for DUI.

Now that's class.

Technorati tags: Kathryn Bowers, Tennessee Waltz, Tennessee Politics.

Roscoe Dixon Guilty on All Counts

Arrested by the FBI as a result of the Tennessee Waltz sting, Democrat Rosco Dixon has been found guilty by a jury of his peers. Dixon is a former Tennessee Senator who resigned his post to work as an assistant administrative aide to Shelby County Mayor A. C. Wharton (also a Democrat).

During the trial, Dixon admitted that he took the bribe money, but:

The former senator insisted, however, that the money had nothing to do with his sponsorship of special legislation purportedly needed by the fake company, E-Cycle Management Inc.

I just can't imagine why the jury didn't buy such a good story! But they found him guilty on all five counts:

• Count 1
  Between July 20, 2004, and May 20, 2005, Roscoe Dixon and aide Barry Myers conspired to obstruct, delay and affect commerce by means of extortion by obtaining property from another with his consent under color of official right.
• Count 2
  Dixon and Myers illegally obtained $6,000 from a representative of E-Cycle on Feb. 12, 2004, under the color of Dixon's position as a Tennessee state senator.
• Count 3
  On March 5, 2004, Dixon, with the aid of Myers, illegally obtained $1,500 from a representative of E-Cycle.
• Count 4
  On May 14, 2004, Dixon, with the aid of Myers, illegally obtained $2,000 from a representative of E-Cycle.
• Count 5
  Between Feb. 12, 2004, and May 14, 2004, Dixon and Myers corruptly demanded $9,500 in cash, intending to be influenced and rewarded in state business transactions involving more than $5,000.

Dixon is free on bond until 8 September, at which time he will face sentencing. The maximum that Dixon can receive is 90 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

AlphaPatriot prediction: Dixon will receive fewer than five years in prison and be ordered to pay fines in the neighborhood of $10,000 — about the amount that he took in bribes. He will serve three years and be elected to office by the ignorant people of Memphis by 2012.

Technorati Tags: Roscoe Dixon, Tennessee Waltz, Tennessee Politics, Memphis Politics, Shelby County Politics, Culture of Corruption, Democrat Culture of Corruption.

Fitzhugh Runs Offensive Ad

Democrat Craig Fitzhugh is the incumbent representative in District 82, yet he chooses to hand out this highly offensive flyer:The level of Fitzhugh's bigotry is shocking.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin who learned of this from the Traditional Values Coalition.

Cross posted to TN4W.

Naifeh Has Prostate Cancer

Naifeh announced he will run for re-election next year and undergo surgery for prostate cancer next week. The cancer was discovered early and the prognosis is good.

As House speaker, Naifeh is among the top three or four officials in state government. He has served in the legislature since 1974, rose through the ranks and has been speaker since 1991, tying former governor Ned McWherter as the longest-serving House speaker in Tennessee history.

Naifeh is not expected to have a major opponent in next August's Democratic primary, but already has a Republican challenger in the general election just over a year away: Dr. Jesse Cannon, a Covington physician and businessman.

Naifeh's House District 81 includes most of Tipton County and all of Haywood County. Although he is usually a GOP electoral target, efforts to unseat him heightened after he emerged two years ago as a leading advocate of tax reform centered around a state income. But he defeated Republican challenger Antonio Lopez, a retired Air Force officer, last November with 52.8 percent of the vote.

As Mike of Half-Bakered notes:

No mention of the gerry-mandering Naifeh engineered to make sure his increasingly Republican Tipton County was supplemented by the still Democratic Haywood County so that he could keep his seat. Without Haywood, Naifeh would have lost; election results proved it. Nor is credit given to Lopez, who entered the race at literally the last minute and ran a write in campaign against the State's most powerful and feared legislator. Cannon emerged later as a "standard" candidate and has been constantly and carefully building a network for his run. It should prove interesting and you can bet I'll be covering it.

Phil Bredesen responds to 2nd Amendment issue

Excerpt from letter received from TN Governor Phil Bredesen:

As a lifelong outdoorsman, I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment.

As Governor, I will focus on maintaining current gun control laws rather than enacting new ones. I believe that existing laws, if properly enforced, are sufficient in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals without illegally infringing on the rights of law-abiding sportsmen.

Again, thank you for sharing your opinion. Rest assured, I am deeply committed to preserving the right of Tennesseans to own and use guns. It is an important component of both our heritage as Tennesseans and our freedom as Americans.

Chumney Resigns from Legislature

Carol Chumney resigned from her seat in the TN state legislature (House District 89) to devote her attention to the Nov. 13 runoff for the Memphis City Council District 5 seat. She is running against radiologist and businessman George Flinn.

Because she resigned with more than a year left in her term, state law calls for a special election to be held. If she had waited until after the runoff race to resign, less than a year would have remained and the Shelby County Commission would have chosen a replacement to serve until the next scheduled election in November 2004.