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Stockard on the Stump: Beaman’s past adds questions to Ogles campaign
Nashville car magnate Lee Beaman appears to have rebounded from bizarre accusations his fourth wife made in their divorce trial, serving again on the Belmont Board of Trustees, donating thousands of dollars to conservative groups and candidates and serving as treasurer of Andy Ogles’ congressional campaign. All is forgiven, forgotten or cast as fabrications. For […]
Community Corrections shift catches lawmaker unaware
State Rep. Andrew Farmer, a Sevierville attorney, was caught off guard in Circuit Court a week ago when, inexplicably, the judge started moving offenders off Community Corrections into state probation. “It just blew my mind,” says Farmer, a Sevierville Republican who chairs the House Civil Justice Committee and serves on the Criminal Justice Committee. The […]
Retiring state Sen. Mike Bell, leaving office early, joins Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Outgoing Republican state Sen. Mike Bell, who announced plans to retire from the Legislature last year, will assume a leadership position inside the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency beginning Aug. 31, the agency announced Wednesday. Bell will serve as the agency’s senior advisor for Legislative affairs and policy, interacting with lawmakers to promote the wildlife and […]
Cothren challenges subpoena order by state registry
The former chief of staff for ex-House Speaker Glen Casada is continuing to fight a subpoena to testify before the Registry of Election Finance about a political action committee he ran secretly to attack political adversaries. Cynthia Sherwood, the Nashville attorney for Cade Cothren, claims the court should not hold him in contempt for invoking […]
Stockard on the Stump: Voucher student numbers low with public schools already open
A week into the 2022-23 school year and few families in Metro Nashville and Shelby County school districts are seeking the vaunted private school vouchers the state is offering. Only 203 families have applied for vouchers, according to the Tennessee Department of Education, even though the law allows up to 5,000 students to receive the […]
Democrats caught up in voter data snafu
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Jason Martin and the Tennessee Democratic Party are at odds over bad information his campaign received from the party and sent to voters in a mass text message just days before the Aug. 4 election. Martin, who narrowly defeated Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley to win the nomination, was caught off […]
Davidson County Community Corrections keeps clients alive
Without Davidson County Community Corrections, Brandon “Lane” Gomez figures he’d be in prison or dead. The 37-year-old Nashville man was strung out on heroin and fentanyl for about a decade, arrested for felony theft to feed his habit 43 times and convicted 28 times when – fortunately, he says – a judge gave him the […]
Stockard on the Stump: Ogles rides super PAC ads in 5th District win
Despite reports of tardy tax payments, a late federal campaign filing and potential illegal coordination with a super PAC, Maury County Mayor Ogles rolled to victory Thursday in the newly-drawn 5th Congressional District Republican primary. Buoyed by dark money groups that hammered former House Speaker Beth Harwell and retired Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead, Ogles collected […]
Ogles likely winner in 5th Congressional District Republican primary
After a bruising campaign in which outside groups poured millions into attack ads, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles appears to be emerging as the winner of the 5th Congressional District Republican primary. Holding a strong lead with most votes counted, Ogles, former state director for Americans for Prosperity, will face Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell […]
Analysis: Tennessee’s Fifth District race likely coming down to Harwell and Ogles
With negative ads flooding voters in the waning days of the 5th Congressional District Republican primary, it appears former House Speaker Beth Harwell and Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles are battling for the nomination, leaving retired Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead in the rear. Never mind the fact that news reports showed Ogles failed to pay […]
Metro Council catches Legislature’s ire with vote rejecting Republican convention
Tennessee’s courtship of the Republican National Convention is over after the Metro Nashville Council rejected a move Tuesday to bring the 2024 event to town, a vote likely to elicit retribution from the Legislature. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally appeared especially irritated, putting the lion’s share of the blame on Mayor John Cooper – who negotiated […]
Anti-federal spending candidate’s firm received $500,000 in pandemic funding
A Republican running for the House District 61 seat in Williamson County wants to invoke the 10th Amendment and rein in federal spending, yet his former law firm received nearly $500,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program. Brentwood attorney Gino Bulso, who is squaring off against Bob Ravener for the seat being vacated by Rep. Brandon […]