May 4, 2005

Governor's Friend Lands Plum Contract

The latest story from NewsChannel5 investigative reporter Phil Williams doesn't reflect well on one of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's cabinet picks, nor on Bredesen's policing of the ethics of members of his administration. The state selected the highest bidder for a contract, and the bidder happened to be: 1. a Bredesen backer, 2. a friend of the commissioner of the Department of Tourism, and 3. The person who recommended Bredesen select her friend as the Department of Tourism commissioner.

Oh, and the Department of Tourism carefully architected the bid process so that there were only a few bidders, and then evaluated the bids in such a way that the company owned by the Friend of Phil/Friend of Commissioner won. The prize: $400,000 a year to run a website. I've seen the website. No way it's worth $400,000 or takes anywhere near that much to operate.
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For more scrutiny of the Bredesen record, see Bredesen Watch.