More Fun With The Ethics System: Gresham Takes A Complaint
Posted on October 21, 2008 at 12:35 pmFrom the Donkey’s Mouth:
The Fayette County Democratic Party Chairman Steve Butler today filed a sworn complaint with the Tennessee Ethics Commission alleging that state Rep. Dolores Gresham misused her office for personal gain by promoting state taxpayer-funded farm grants in the legislature and later accepting nearly $36,000 in the same grants for her and her husband’s cattle farm.
Pro-Life State Senate Candidate Accused Of Advising Abortion
Posted on October 20, 2008 at 6:08 pmThe letter writing campaign against 26th District state Senate candidate Randy Camp does not appear to be letting up in the least out in West Tennessee. The candidate who was revealed in August to have committed adultery in his marriage now stands accused by his ex-wife of counseling a woman to have an abortion.
The first volley in this letter-writing campaign (which all participants assure Post Politics has come without direction from the Republican Party or the campaign of Camp’s opponent, State Rep. Dolores Gresham) was lobbed by Randy Camp’s former brother-in-law, Tommy Roland.
In a letter, distributed this summer to “some folks around the district” and motivated by a “country-boy” urge to defend his sister, Roland got into the nitty-gritty of Randy Camp’s divorce of his wife, Lisa. A copy of the divorce records where Camp admitted to adultery in his marriage were enclosed.
The next letter was sent by Camp’s former mother-in-law. In her letter, the grandmother of young Catherine and Leigh Camp documents her pleading in correspondence to candidate Camp that he not use his daughters in a political fashion. Camp declined.
Now, in the most salacious chapter, Lisa Roland Camp, Randy Camp’s ex-wife, has penned her own letter bearing her own signature.
In the letter Lisa Camp accuses her pro-life candidate ex-husband, Randy Camp, of counseling an unnamed woman to have an abortion.
I am ashamed that I have watched [Randy Camp] tell voters lie and after lie after lie and said nothing. But when I saw him use our daughters in an effort to portray himself as pro-life, I knew I couldn’t remain silent any longer.
Randy Camp is not pro-life. He may tell you that in an effort to get your vote but when confronted with an inconvenient pregnancy, he counseled abortion. I know. Fortunately, the woman did not listen.
When contacted by Post Politics Lisa Camp confirmed that she was the author of the letter. She said that the letter had been sent out to “a bunch” of people around the district and that her reasons for writing were simple.
“All these years I’ve lived with Randy Camp, I know he is not pro-life,” Camp explained. “I was gonna stay out of it. Really, I was. But after I saw that commercial with my girls saying he was pro-life, I just couldn’t stay out of it anymore.”
Lisa Camp refused to comment on whether she had been present for the abortion counseling or if she had heard it from the person counseled.
When asked how she could assure Post Politics that Randy Camp had counseled a woman to get an abortion Camp responded matter-of-factly.
“You’re just gonna have to take my word for it,” Camp explained, “I just know.”
Speaking for Randy Camp, State Senate Democratic Caucus Political Director Mark Brown says that Camp “flatly denies” these allegations.
Brown says that Camp has “never advised anyone to have an abortion and has no idea what incident [Ms. Camp] writes about.”
The campaign also released the following statement by Mark Brown:
“Everyone that knows Randy Camp knows that he is pro-life and pro-traditional values. He and [Rep. Gresham] agree on that.
Where they disagree is on her belief that government should work for her and not for the people. [Rep. Gresham] and her supporters can try to distract voters from her record with accusations and innuendo, but it won’t work.
The fact of the matter is that the only two accomplishments of Dolores Gresham’s legislative career have been to raise her own pay and to give herself thousands of dollars of taxpayer money in farm grants. She and her supporters just don’t get that they can’t obscure that fact.”
Getting Your Story Out First
Posted on at 7:28 amIt turns out that the Democratic candidate in Senate District 26 received the exact same farm subsidy Democrats criticized his Republican opponent for receiving:
Randy Camp received $3,500 during each of the last two years and has been approved for $5,000 more this year to help pay for hay storage facilities on his Crockett County farm, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Are Ya Ginnin’ Me?
Posted on October 13, 2008 at 3:01 pmOn the most recent quarterly report of state Senate candidate Dolores Gresham appears one $500 contribution in the name of Shelton Wilder. Shelton Wilder, who lists his occupation as “Ginner” is the son of former Lieutenant Governor John Shelton Wilder, the current holder of the seat.
Former Lt. Gov. Wilder has campaigned vigorously for his former aide Randy Camp to keep the seat in Democratic hands. Wilder the Elder has also given a total of $1,500 to the Camp campaign. The seat is a battleground in the race to control the state Senate which is currently divided 16-16-1.
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Senate District 26 Becoming Ground Zero In The Battle To Control The State Senate
Posted on at 12:53 pmDolores Gresham gets a bit of help from the Republican State Leadership Committee in her bid to claim the seat of the former Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Wilder for the GOP:
SEE ALSO: Gresham’s “Friends” are doing her a solid as well.
Bringing Out The Big Guns In Senate District 26
Posted on at 11:57 amGovernor Bredesen will be in West Tennessee Wednesday trying to get that early vote out for Randy Camp.
Former Mother-In-Law Doesn’t Want Grandkids Used As Campaign Props
Posted on October 1, 2008 at 5:31 pmDemocratic state Senate candidate Randy Camp is once again at the center of some in-law drama.
It appears that Camp’s former brother-in-law, who has been sending letters to citizens of the 26th District documenting his disgust over the treatment of his sister during her 20-plus year marriage to Mr. Camp, is not alone among members of his family in having a fondness for committing his thoughts to paper.
Post Politics has learned that Nancy Roland, the mother of Camp’s former wife Lisa, has also written a letter. In the missive, which was sent to an estimated “hundreds” around the district, Roland echoes her son’s accounts of the mistreatment of her daughter as well as Camp’s many admitted adulteries.
But she also adds a new charge.
In the letter, Ms. Roland asserts that she asked Mr. Camp to refrain from using his daughters and grandchild, her granddaughters and great grandson, in political ads.
“Because of all Lisa had been through, I wrote and begged him not to use the children and our great grandson in his politics. He has ignored my request,” Roland states in the letter.
The daughters, Catherine and Leigh Camp, however, have been on the campaign trail and were featured in at least one political advertisement along with pictures of Catherine’s young son, Brayden.
Camp’s ex-wife, Lisa, confirmed that she was aware of the letter and while she did not solicit or instigate it’s writing, she does vouch for it’s content.
On the subject of Catherine and Leigh’s campaign activities, Lisa Roland tells Post Politics that while she has never asked her daughters explicitly to refrain from the practice (and never would), she has expressed her feelings on the matter.
“They know I’m not fond of it,” explains Ms. Camp. “But, he’s their Dad. I want to them to have a relationship with him. I would never stand in the way of that.”
Nancy Roland also confirmed that she did author the letter because of “everything my daughter has been through.”
When asked whether she had been helped with the letter or its distribution by Republican operatives or political opponents of Camp, Roland responded, “Oh no, I am not really a political person. I’m a political independent. I vote for the best person for the job.”
Roland added that Mr. Camp has, to date, neither answered nor acknowledged her letter imploring him not to use her grandchildren in his political campaign.
Requests for comment to Randy Camp were referred to Senate Democratic Caucus Political Director Mark Brown who issued the following statement.
“Randy’s grown daughters love their father and support his campaign because they understand the importance of this election to their futures and the future of District 26. They agree with their father about the importance of bringing good-paying jobs to the district and improving access to health care. Obviously, Gresham and her surrogates desperately want to change the subject from the fact that Gresham’s top legislative accomplishment has been to raise her own pay.”
It’s All About Values, Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge
Posted on September 23, 2008 at 4:29 pmIn what is surely meant as a subtle reference to this, the TNGOP makes an independent expenditure on behalf of Rep. Dolores Gresham who is taking on Randy Camp in state Senate District 26, currently held by John Wilder:
Do You Know What Dad’s Best At?
Posted on at 2:23 pmSerial adultery? No? So close.
A television commercial from the 26th District state Senate campaign of Randy Camp — featuring his supportive offspring:
Perpendicular Prospects
Posted on September 21, 2008 at 2:54 pmNew voters energized by Barack Obama will likely not help Obama win the state here in Tennessee but they may not be useful in turning the tide in crucial down ticket races either:
Robin Smith, who heads the Tennessee Republican Party, doubts that enthusiasm for Obama will help legislative races. Most of the new voters are in urban areas and college campuses, she said, while many of the key legislative races this fall are in rural areas.
“I think the state Democrats are in a very tough quandary, because the top of their ticket message is absolutely perpendicular to what their state party is trying to pull off,” she said.Hayden acknowledges that Tennessee is generally not a state in which state candidates benefit from top-ticket turnout, because “our voters split their tickets, and they do so a lot.”
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All Faulked Up: State Senate Candidate Accused Of Affair With Married Schoolteacher
Posted on September 12, 2008 at 7:14 amState Senate candidate Mike Faulk, the Republicans only hope of unseating a former Republican, now Independent incumbent, who sides with the Democratic Caucus, has been accused of an inappropriate relationship with a young Republican activist:
But his campaign is facing unexpected trouble because the chairwoman of the Hawkins County Young Republicans has circulated a letter discouraging other Republicans from supporting Faulk, saying he had an affair with her during the race and criticizing him for repeatedly denying it.
“My ability to perform my job in leading this organization has been tainted due to my inappropriate, extramarital relationship with state Senate Candidate Mike Faulk,” said the letter sent from the work e-mail account of Rogersville elementary school teacher Kelli Walker.
This is not the first state Senate race where the word adultery is fixing to play a pivotal role. Randy Camp, looking to keep former Lt. Gov. John Wilder’s seat in Democratic hands, has seen his former brother-in-law put his admitted adulterous relationships out in the street.
UPDATE: See Kelli Walker’s full email detailing her resignation from the Hawkins County Young Republicans at this link.
Camp Was Randy: State Senate Candidate Admitted Adultery As Grounds For Divorce
Posted on August 22, 2008 at 2:34 pm
While State Senate Candidate Randy Camp has received the blessing of the state’s highest ranking Democrat in his quest to hold the state Senate seat of former Lt. Governor John Wilder for the party, another state Democrat of significantly less prominence is not at all enthusiastic about the candidacy of Mr. Camp.
Tommy Roland, brother in law to Mr. Camp for 20 years, has written a damning letter, obtained by Post Politics, in which he calls into question his former brother-in-law’s fitness to serve.
The letter, dated July 15, which Mr. Roland says was sent to Governor Bredesen, Lt. Governor Wilder and “various others around the 26th state Senate District” accuses Mr. Camp of gross martial misconduct.
“Randy Camp’s conduct while married to my sister was horrible. He was having several affairs right under our noses. His actions have resulted in at least two broken marriages and damage to others, Families in both Crockett and Gibson Counties have been hurt by all of this. Lisa also received anonymous letters from Nashville telling her of extramarital affairs as well,” says Roland in the letter.
Attached with the letter is a copy of the divorce judgment against Mr. Camp in which Camp concedes to adultery as grounds for the divorce. An appellate court decision which gets into further details of the divorce including a dispute over alimony, is also online.
“Mr. Camp contends that the trial court erred in awarding Ms. Camp alimony in futuro rather than rehabilitative alimony, and in setting alimony at an inappropriately high amount. Mr. Camp asserts that, as the trial court found, Ms. Camp is a healthy and intelligent woman who is capable of earning $25,000 to $40,000 per year, depending on whether she completes her bachelor’s degree. He argues that the parties did not enjoy a lavish lifestyle during the course of their marriage and that, in light of the division of property, Ms. Camp is able to maintain a lifestyle similar to that enjoyed prior to the divorce and does not need alimony in futuro.”
Camp’s brother-in-law says that, while he does usually vote Democrat, he is not a political person and has no political agenda — he simply feels called to speak out.
“I’m just a country boy standin’ up for my sister,” Roland tells Post Politics. “If [Camp] had just waited a year or two, nobody in this family would have said a word about any of this.”
Indeed, timing seems to be a very crucial issue for Roland. He objects quite vigorously to the opening of wounds so quickly after infliction contending that the final divorce appeal was only resolved a month before Mr. Camp threw his hat in the ring for state senate (although he did appear to waver a bit).
Tommy Roland explains, “After nearly twenty years of infidelity and two years fighting in court, we all thought it was finally over. Then, thirty days after the court decided for Lisa, Mr. Camp announced his candidacy. How he could even think about running for office at this point in time is unbelievable.”
When contacted Camp’s ex-wife, Lisa Faye Roland Camp, told Post Politics that while she was not aware of her brother’s intention to send the letter she supports her brother in “doing what he felt he needed to do” and vouches for the letter’s veracity.
“Everything in the letter is true,” explains the candidate’s ex-wife.
In 2006, Camp resigned his position as State Administrative Officer of the Courts stating at the time his reason for the resignation in a press release.
“For the past several months I have been dealing with personal matters involving my family in West Tennessee,” Camp said. “These matters have now reached a level of complexity that will require even more of my attention over the coming weeks, perhaps months.”
Contacted by Post Politics, Camp said he was aware of the letter and, in fact, said the one originally received by Post Politics is not the only one of its kind circulating. Indeed, a different version of the letter, dated July 28, includes a postscript mentioning the harassment he received after sending the first letter.
Camp thinks that the distribution of these letters are, at the very least, intriguing.
“For a guy who claims to know nothing about politics, it’s interesting that these letters are shipped through bulk mail and seem to be sent to targeted voters,” explained Camp.
Camp tells P-squared that his campaign has received many, many calls about the letters most always from white female voters. Camp says that even when the callers are male they are always calling on behalf of a wife or a sister. Camp would not comment on whether he thought the letters were part of a coordinated effort by political opponents.
As to the content of the letter(s), Camp says there are both true and untrue statements contained within. He says, in the interest of his daughters (who support him and travel with him on the campaign trail), he is not going to go about rebutting any of it. That said, Camp does not shy away from admitting wrongdoing.
“Listen, like some folks have told me, if they had just stuck with the truth it would be bad enough,” said Camp. “I’m not hiding or covering up anything.”
The alimony dispute, Camp explains, was in the interest of his children.
“My ex-wife got quite a bit of property up front and she is capable of working. I was simply trying to get more money to my children. The judge made his decision, though, and that’s the end of it,” Camp explained.
Camp does not believe that his adultery should in any way disqualify him from office.
“If we only allowed perfect people to serve, we wouldn’t have many people up there,” explained Camp. “But that’s up to the voters to decide.”
Camp will face current state Rep. Dolores Gresham, who weeks ago emerged from a squeaker of a GOP primary with former candidate Bob Schutt, in the general election for the traditionally Democratic seat. The open seat is crucial one in the battle for the General Assembly as the Tennessee state Senate is currently divided evenly 16-16-1.
SEE ALSO:
Appellate court judgment
Tommy Roland Letter
Photo Of Camp with Harold Ford, Jr.
Bill Hobbs
Sean Braisted
Polling Party Strength
Posted on May 19, 2008 at 11:06 amSean Braisted hears that Tennessee Democratic legislative candidates are strong but without the hard data he remains unconvinced:
I’ve heard stories about how great some of these candidates are in the rural areas of the state, but without poll numbers or some other objective measurement to back them up, I have no way of knowing whether they are blowing smoke or telling the truth.
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Post Politics: 9 April 2008 - Afternoon Edition
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 2:58 pmA new wrinkle is added to the controversy over alleged underage drinking at a legislator’s Mule Day celebration.
The Attorney General issues an opinion declaring a bill which sought to make it a crime for illegal immigrants to accept pay for work unconstitutional.
Fayette County attorney Steve Butler has withdrawn his petition to seek the Democratic nomination in state Senate District 26 in favor of endorsing fellow Democrat Randy Camp. The seat is currently held by former Lt. Gov. John Wilder, who is serving his last term in the legislature.
Katie Allison Granju wonders why women invest so much in the Democratic Party while receiving so little yield on their investment.
Rob Huddleston reports that the Knox County GOP is in disarray.
Stagnating incomes for the poor and middle class make it hard for them to weather the storm of a recessionary economy.
David Oatney reports that Church Hill Attorney Mike Faulk has raised over $146,000 in his race to unseat independent state Senator Mike Williams in District 4.
Christine Buttorff reports that the “Support Student Safety” coalition wants Metro Schools to adopt a policy that includes anti-discrimination language for sexual orientation and gender identity.
Speaker Jimmy Naifeh defends his recent parliamentary maneuvering which resulted in the demise of some popular firearm legislation.
Nashvillians can come out and celebrate the opening of the Cumberland Pedestrian Bridge this Saturday.
Matt Pulle discusses legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben West designed specifically to allow one man to build a home without updating the septic system on the property.
An argument in favor of repealing the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
Surprise: Local conservative talker shows little respect for his ideologically divergent colleagues.
Nashville Scene Editor Liz Garrigan is going to take some time apart from Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Memo to activists and public relations specialists: “Befriend a local prominent blogger and make them understand the urgency of your cause.”
Rep. Ulysses Jones, a Memphis Democrat, successfully changed a measure before the legislature which called for the election of both the Secretary of State and the creation of a new elected office of lieutenant governor to only apply to the latter.
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