Two Tennesseans Now Mentioned as VPs
Two Tennesseans Now Mentioned as VPs -- Harold Ford, Jr. picked up a mention as a possible Vice President candidate for Hillary Clinton by Politics Today. Among the pluses for Ford in any consideration for VP were his moderate voting record. Among the negatives - his recent Senate race loss and family name. Ford joins Congressman Marsha Blackburn as the second Tennessean to be listed on the short-list of Vice Presidential picks. The National Review and others mentioned Blackburn over the past few weeks as a potential Vice Presidential pick for John McCain.
Sullivan Co. Wants Lottery Money for Construction -- The Sullivan Co. Commission could bring its political weight to bear on the on-going debate about how to spend the lottery surplus money. Republicans announced last week they had reached an agreement with the Democrats to spend the lottery money through decreasing the GPA required to retain the lottery scholarship. That hasn't stopped the Sullivan Co. Commission, however, from pushing lawmakers to back a plan to spend money on local school construction grants.
Bean: Williams Out -- Halls Shopper columnist Betty Bean says that Independent State Sen. Mike Williams has decided not to run for reelection. Bean caveats that he has until April 3 to officially make up his mind, however. Williams has been under the gun from Republican Party leaders for some time, ever since he voted for John Wilder for Lt. Gov. over the Republican nominee Ron Ramsey. But he says he became an Independent for different reasons. Williams: "[I changed parties because of] the combination of seeing people in elected office say one thing publicly and get to Nashville and act 100 percent opposite." Attorney Mike Faulk is expected to levy a hefty challenge to Williams this year.
Cochran in Against Williams -- Elizabethton attorney Jerome Cochran has formally announced he will be challenging incumbent State Rep. Kent Williams in a GOP primary. Cochran came out swinging in his announcement, saying: "This election, Carter County Republicans will have a clear choice between a conservative Republican with a proven record of supporting lower taxes, responsible state spending, and defending the rights of the unborn or our current State Representative's record of supporting higher taxes, more government spending, and selling out Republican values for his own personal benefit."
Dean Seeks AG's Opinion on Sheriff Run -- State Rep. Vince Dean has asked the State Attorney General whether or not he can qualify to run for Hamilton Co. Sheriff while still serving in the State House. Rep. Dean said he will leave the Legislature if he gets the nomination and it is ruled that he has to step down. Dean is seeking the Republican nomination to the spot - which will be decided on March 27.
Open Meetings Laws Stall -- State Sen. Randy McNally says he has stripped a provision that would increase the number of county officeholders that would have to be present to be considered a violation of the state's open meeting laws. The controversal provision approved by a study committee last summer would have required at least three members of the same governmental body to be present to be considered a violation of the state's open meeting laws, instead of the current provision which prohibits any private meeting between at lesat two members. What is likely to pass is an okay to a state ombudsman that would oversee ethics complaints and another provision limited the state's open records laws that would shield state employees addresses from being accessed. Meanwhile, the Commercial Appeal looks at a disparity in the delivery of records accessed through the state's open records laws.
Kleinheider Out -- In a long farewell post, A.C. Kleinheider, the blogger at the incredibly popular Volunteer Voters blog announced that WKRN was cutting him because of budget considerations. Volunteer Voters will likely the most popular political blog in the state, drawing accolades from both sides of the aisle for its unique journalism and discussion-building. VV will be sorely missed.
