May 26, 2006

A Year Later, Two Still Dance

Ford, Newton, Crutchfield, Bowers

A year after the Tennessee Waltz arrests of four state legislators for allegedly accepting bribes, two of these four legislators - state Sen. Ward Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga, and state Sen. Kathryn Bowers, D-Memphis - are still in office. The only Republican legislator indicted, former state Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland, resigned and is the only one of the four so far who has admitted guilt. Former state Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, resigned but claims he's not guilty, although released video tape shows him accepting bribes.

The Tennessean has a nice look back today at the arrests and their ongoing impact on the legislature and state politics.