September 13, 2006

Rochelle Fogger

Try as he might, former state Sen. Bob Rochelle can't shake his past record as he runs to try to regain the state Senate seat he abandoned four years rather than face certain defeat by voters angry at his near-successful attempt to ram an unconstitutional income tax into law. Via Mark Rose, here's some choice stuff from the campaign of incumbent state Sen. Mae Beavers...

Here's a couple of tidbits (three, actually) on Bob Rochelle I have learned via some digging done by Senator Mae Beavers and her people.

1. Bob Rochelle is trying to get some traction on the price of gas and using alternative fuels, yet Senator Rochelle voted twice in one year to raise the gasoline tax here in Tennessee.

2. Senator Rochelle helped passed a bill that created the delinquent tax attorney position so he could receive a percentage of taxes collected. He is also the attorney for the special school district and the wastewater authority. His firm represents all the water utility districts in the county. He has many more government jobs besides these. He is the attorney for the Joint Economic Development Board and the Four Lakes Authority that he helped create by legislation. How would you like a job where you could simply pass a bill to put money in your pocket?

3. On his disclosure in this election you will find people like Senator Ward Crutchfield, who has been indicted for bribery and extortion. In a newspaper article published in the Lebanon Democrat on June 22, 1990, "Cash Flowed at Hill: Lobbyist," a lobbyist testified that "he followed 'standard procedure' on Capitol Hill by giving cash to legislators." Named in the article were several legislators he had given cash to in order to pass his bills, two of whom were Bob Rochelle and Senator Crutchfield.

And taking money now from a senator indicted for taking bribes from a lobbyist is just unseemly.

A vote for Rochelle is a vote to return to the legislature's less-ethical past.