Phil Bredesen's Partners

From Big Jim Bryson's Campaign:

Governor Bredesen recently filmed an ad called "My Partner" with U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. We thought you would like to know a little bit about Bredesen's other partners.

John Ford

Today we chronicle the relationship between the Governor and one of his closest partners: indicted former State Senator John Ford. In 2003, Senator Ford lobbied Governor Bredesen to shift TennCare patients to OmniCare, whose parent company paid Ford over $400,000 from 2001-2005. Sure enough, 20,000 patients were shifted to OmniCare in a matter of months. That equaled $2.5 million more dollars the state paid to OmniCare.

However, Governor Bredesen turned out to be a silent partner. Even as the scandal around state Sen. John Ford's financial ties to a Memphis-based TennCare contractor grew to a fever pitch, Gov. Phil Bredesen waited weeks before publicly disclosing that Ford had pressed him to send more business to the company.

Ethics and legal experts had mixed views on whether Bredesen should have disclosed his interaction with Ford.

Megan Barry, a compliance officer for a private company, who closely follows corporate ethics issues, called Bredesen's silence ''foolish,'' particularly given the rash of high-profile corporate scandals over the past few years.

Ironically, fellow Democrat Frank Buck outlined similar deals to Governor Bredesen long before the Tennessee Waltz scandal erupted. Almost two years ago in a governor's office meeting, state Rep. Frank Buck laid out the ethics mess in the General Assembly for Gov. Phil Bredesen...He asked the governor and fellow Democrat for help... Buck said Bredesen ultimately turned him down. "He said, 'I can't get involved in fights I can't win. Ethics is a legislative matter.' "

Buck was devastated: "Two things that offended me ... that he thought I was so stupid to believe he couldn't win this fight and ... that he obviously had no interest in it. "

However, Bredesen did finally own up to dealing with Ford when the TBI expressed interest in talking to the Governor.

Gov. Phil Bredesen will meet with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as early as this week to discuss a 2003 conversation with state Sen. John Ford, the governor said yesterday.

These new twists in the ethical scandals surrounding Ford come after some had criticized Bredesen for waiting weeks before speaking publicly about his conversation with Ford - and, even then, not going to investigators with his knowledge.

Meet another one of Bredesen's Partners!

Governor Bredesen recently filmed an ad called “My Partner” with U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. We thought you would like to know a little bit about Bredesen’s other partners.

Fred Phillips

Today we chronicle the relationship between the Governor and one of his closest partners: disgraced former Commissioner of Safety Fred Phillips.

In 2005, Safety Commissioner Fred Phillips resigned because of his leading role in the promotions for campaign cash scandal that continues to rock the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

As Commissioner of Safety, Phillips ran the THP in classic “good ole boy” fashion.
A months-long investigation by The Tennessean has shown that two-thirds of THP officers proposed for promotions under Bredesen had made campaign donations or had relatives or patrons who did. Of those, half were recommended over troopers with better scores on impartial exams.

But now, Phil Bredesen is actively campaigning for Phillips.

In response to a question, Bredesen confirmed he will campaign for Fred Phillips, who is challenging Republican state Rep. Matthew Hill of Jonesborough; Lowe Finney, a Jackson lawyer challenging Republican Sen. Don McLeary of Jackson; and Bob Rochelle, a former state senator challenging Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet.

"In Fred's case, I want to make it clear that there's no hard feelings between us or anything like that," said Bredesen.

Phillips, a former Washington County sheriff, was appointed safety commissioner by Bredesen and served until earlier this year, when he resigned amid allegations of political favoritism and other problems in the Highway Patrol.

So, Governor Bredesen believes Fred Phillips is not ethical enough to be Safety Commissioner but it is just fine for his partner to serve the people of Washington County and Tennessee in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Governor Bredesen and Fred Phillips: returning cronyism and corruption to the state legislature.

Tomorrow: Meet another one of Bredesen’s Partners!