Free Republic

Sundquist gives self free golf for life Dennis Ferrier January 30, 2003 There is a controversial parting gift involving former governor Don Sundquist. Usually, such a "going away gift" would come from somebody else, but in this case, the former governor apparently arranged one for himself just before leaving office. It was a gift from the taxpayers of Tennessee. I bet you have never heard of a piece of paper called a special arrangement request. It is the state's version of legal gift-giving -- and this is a big one. It gives former Governor Don Sundquist and his wife Martha...

Agents Raid Education Networks Of America There’s been another dramatic development in the investigation of alleged insider contracts handed out by the Sundquist administration. Friday, federal and state agents raided a Nashville company with close ties to the governor. Agents backed a van inside the offices of Education Networks of America, trying to keep a lid what might be the most dramatic moment yet in the federal and state criminal investigation of alleged insider contracts. Through the window, investigators were seen hauling away boxes of evidence. Two longtime friends of the governor, John Stamps and Al Ganier, formed ENA, an...

News of the death of Tennessee tax reform may have been exaggerated Sunday, November 17, 2002 By Hank Hayes Times-News Is the idea of tax reform in Tennessee - including the possibility of a state income tax - really dead? Or is it merely hibernating? House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, who unsuccessfully tried to push tax reform through the House last spring, doesn't see the issue resurfacing. "I think the only way we will have tax reform will be through a constitutional convention," said Naifeh, D-Covington. "We did pass that last year in the House, and the Senate did not pass...

Company overcharged state for services: audit By The Associated Press October 20, 2002 CHATTANOOGA - A company owned by a longtime friend of Gov. Don Sundquist overbilled the state for work counseling the unemployed, an audit shows. An independent audit of Chattanooga-based Workforce Strategists, which won a $1.9 million contract in 1999 without the state seeking competitive bids, shows the company in 2001 charged the Labor Department $138,600 for workers no longer enrolled in the program. The company closed its doors Sept. 30 when its three-year state contract ended. A day later, FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents removed...

Sundquist in Europe on taxpayer expense Governor has "special travel status" Nancy Amons October 10, 2002 Governor Don Sundquist and a delegation of state employees were in Milan, Italy, on Thursday -- and the taxpayers are footed the bill. Sundquist, his wife and half a dozen state officials left the capitol 11 days ago on a trade mission to Europe. His staff says the trip is vital to the economic success of Tennessee. On Thursday, the I-Team asked: What's this costing the taxpayers? Italy -- a setting of Renaissance Opulance -- that's how the Westin Palace in Milan bills...

<p>The state comptroller's office is investigating contracts awarded to two companies headed by friends of Gov. Don Sundquist, Comptroller John Morgan confirmed yesterday.</p> <p>Morgan said he opened the probe of state contracts with Education Networks of America and Workforce Strategists several weeks ago because of questions raised in media reports about the relationship of the companies' founders to the governor.</p>

<p>The state will make no decision on whether to extend a contract to a Chattanooga company under investigation by the FBI until a review of the contract is completed, officials said yesterday.</p> <p>Workforce Strategists, owned by a friend of Gov. Don Sundquist, closed its doors and laid off its staff of seven Monday when its three-year, $1.9 million contract expired because it was unsure that a one-year, $744,000 extension would be granted.</p>

NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Friends in High Places Agents seize records from business (Original Date: Oct. 1, 2002.) An FBI agent hauls away records seized Tuesday from Workforce Strategists. For weeks, the governor's office had dismissed the joint FBI-TBI investigation of state contracts as a "routine review." Tuesday, that investigation -- which was sparked by our own investigation, Friends in High Places -- took a not-so-routine turn -- as federal and state agents seized records from a Chattanooga business with close ties to the governor. FBI and TBI agents were tightlipped as they hauled seven boxes of records out of...

Head games: Tennessee Dems taunt GOP with foam Sundquist head By KARIN MILLER Associated Press Writer September 21, 2002 NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist doesn't make it to many Republican campaign events these days because his push for a state income tax has made him so unpopular in his party. But Democrats want to make sure he isn't forgotten. They often send in the "Titular Head," a party activist who dons a 3-foot plastic foam head with a toothy grin and huge eyeglasses that bears a remarkable likeness to the GOP's lame-duck governor. "It's part publicity stunt and part...

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/investigates/index.html NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Friends in High Places FBI-TBI Open Criminal Investigation (Original Date: Sept. 12, 2002.) View video of this story There's been a major development in our investigation of insider contracts within the Sundquist administration. NewsChannel 5 has learned those contracts are now the subject of a joint federal and state criminal investigation. Sources say the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have formed a joint task force to try to determine whether any laws were broken. As NewsChannel 5 first reported, some close friends of the governor have raked in millions of dollars...

Tennessee, Virginia governors share insights into states' budget woes Va. Gov. Mark Warner, left, and Tenn. Gov. Don Sundquist took part in the Wellmont Foundation Governor's Cup. David Grace photo. By MIKE STILL KINGSPORT - Tennessee's and Virginia's chief executives agree that tight revenues are the immediate cause of their states' budgetary woes. Don Sundquist and Mark Warner each are overseeing state governments faced with millions or even billions of dollars in declining revenues this year. Sundquist, finishing his second term as Tennessee's governor, has wrangled with the General Assembly over reforming the state's tax framework. Warner, as a freshman...

Governor's Office Retaliates In the wake of a Channel 5 exposé, Sundquist's administration pulls PSAs By Matt Pulle It's hardly the way to discredit a damning story. In the wake of a recent WTVF-Channel 5 investigation that claimed Gov. Don Sundquist's administration doles out lucrative contracts to his buddies, the governor's office has pulled $160,000 in public service announcements from the station. "They were trying to portray the governor as a buffoon, and I was personally insulted by that," says Art Victorine, the director of the governor's highway safety office who made the decision to pull the administration's ads. Channel...

http://newschannel5.com/news/investigates/friends/gov5.htm NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Friends in High Places Officials join in unauthorized fund drive (Original Date: August 2002.) View video of this story Would you give to a charity that wasn't legally allowed to solicit money? If you're a Tennessee taxpayer, you already have. In fact, you've given hundreds of thousands of dollars. State officials say it was all for a good cause. But investigative reporter Phil Williams says they can't tell you how every penny was spent. In 1997, the Sundquist administration invited ad agencies to compete for the state's business. That contract was awarded to Akins and Tombras,...

NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Friends in High Places Was parking lot built for governor's friend? (Original Date: July 2002.) Townsend, Tennessee calls itself "the peaceful side of the Smokies." It's so peaceful that Governor Don Sundquist decided to build his retirement home in an exclusive golf community in the mountains. But these days that tranquility has been shattered by a controversy over a parking lot. "Everybody in the community knows why this parking lot was gone in," says one resident. "It's politics all the way," adds another. "They can't fool the people of Townsend," says a third. At the center of...

NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Friends in High Places Governor's friends land big contracts (Original Date: July 2002.) There are serious questions about how the Sundquist administration has handled millions of dollars in state contracts. Our exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has put the spotlight on the value of friends in high places. For some of Don Sundquist's supporters, having their man in the governor's office has been as good as having your money in the bank. Investigative reporter Phil Williams says the question is: were the governor's friends the best for the job? As Don Sundquist took the helm of state government,...

Commission to study taxation Panel to report findings by 2004 By The Associated Press July 11, 2002 NASHVILLE - The tax debate that has dominated Tennessee politics for four years is likely to continue with the creation of a tax study commission. Lawmakers approved a measure sponsored by Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville, to create a 15-member independent commission. The legislation requires the commission to perform a "comprehensive study" of taxation in Tennessee and report its findings to the Legislature by July 2004. The commission is to evaluate the soundness, fairness, equity and deductibility of the state's tax system. The General...

Record tax a political bull's-eye Anti-spending Republicans wear it and call it 'victory' July 8, 2002 NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican lawmakers who voted for $933 million in new taxes - the largest tax increase in Tennessee history - expect to be targeted in this year's elections. "I imagine that campaign mailers are being prepared as we speak," said Rep. Bobby Wood (R-Harrison), the longest-serving Republican in the Tennessee House. More than 60 percent of the House votes for the bill were from Republicans. About $600 million of this year's tax package will be generated from a 1-cent increase in the...

More battles inevitable, but is income tax? NEWS ANALYSIS By Richard Locker locker@gomemphis.com July 7, 2002 NASHVILLE - The monumental political battle over state tax reform ended after 3 years Wednesday when income tax advocates conceded defeat. Hours later the General Assembly approved a 17 percent increase in the state sales tax - from 6 percent to 7 percent - that opponents said made Tennessee's tax system even more regressive than it was. And although tax reform advocates admit they lost the battle, they say they are not surrendering. Even conservative Republican Sen. David Fowler of Chattanooga, an income tax...

<p>State lawmakers wound up their 102nd session yesterday after a grueling four-year fight over taxes and returned home to face voters and questions about why they approved the largest tax increase in the state's history. Most legislators interviewed by The Tennessean acknowledged that the tax vote could hurt members seeking re-election. However, with an income tax dead, they said they had no choice but to vote for the $933 million tax package so 22,000 furloughed state employees could return to work and state government could resume normal operations.</p>

Lawmakers raise sales, other taxes to end shutdown By Paula Wade and Richard Locker wade@gomemphis.com locker@gomemphis.com July 4, 2002 NASHVILLE - The Tennessee legislature Wednesday raised the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent beginning July 15, (NOTE: SALES TAX ON FOOD WAS NOT RAISED)and hiked other taxes to restore state government to full operation Friday morning after four days in partial shutdown. Lawmakers adopted the mostly lobbyist-written tax plan after House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, Gov. Don Sundquist and other reform-minded advocates of an income tax conceded defeat Wednesday morning, ending a 3d-year budget stalemate. Sundquist said he will sign...