Oak Ridge Today

Alexander, Fleischmann finish first in primaries

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Lamar Alexander and Johnny Alley

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, left, a Tennessee Republican, campaigns at Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, one day before he beat Tea Party challenger Joe Carr, a state representative from Middle Tennessee, in the seven-candidate GOP primary. Alexander is pictured above with Anderson County Property Assessor Johnny Alley.

 

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Ninth District judicial race close; Supreme Court justices retained

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander finished far ahead of a Tea Party challenger in the Republican primary on Thursday, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann narrowly beat Weston Wamp, the son of former Congressman Zach Wamp, in the second battle between the two men.

Alexander’s top opponent in the seven-candidate GOP primary was State Representative Joe Carr of Middle Tennessee. Alexander, who lost in his home district of Blount County, had 329,929 votes, compared to 269,883 for Carr, according to unofficial results posted by the Tennessee Secretary of State.

George Flinn, a Memphis radiologist and radio station owner, finished a distant third, with 34,568 votes.

Alexander, a former Tennessee governor and University of Tennessee president, will face Democrat Gordon Ball in the November 4 general election. [Read more…]

Supreme Court justices campaign to stay on bench

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Tom Beehan and Gary Wade

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade, right, talks to reporters during a campaign stop at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen on Thursday. Also pictured is Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan.

 

In most elections, voters don’t pay much attention to the retention elections for judges.

This year, though, the decision on whether to keep three of the five Tennessee Supreme Court justices on the bench is one of the most closely watched races in the state. More than $1 million has already been spent.

The three judges facing retention elections this Thursday—Chief Justice Gary Wade and Justices Sharon Lee and Cornelia Clark—were in Oak Ridge last Thursday trying to convince local voters to let them keep their jobs for another eight years.

Appointed by former Governor Phil Bredesen, the justices said they’re fighting out-of-state money and inaccurate portrayals of their work. They’re battling back against what they consider an attempt to introduce partisan politics into the courtroom.

“Partisan politics has no role in courts of law,” Wade said.

“We want to preserve fair and impartial courts,” Lee said. “When you put politics in the courtroom, you push the Constitution out.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Tennessee retention elections explained by LWVTN

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By League Issues: Making Democracy Work

On August 7, Tennesseans will vote in a statewide retention election for appellate judges. Included are three of the five Tennessee Supreme Court justices as well as judges currently sitting on the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals.

The August 7 retention election represents the last such election under the much-respected Tennessee Plan—the 40-plus year plan for merit selection and retention of appellate judges. The plan was designed to reduce partisanship and outside influences in electing and retaining our appellate judges. The final phase of the plan—merit retention—expired June 30, 2014.

This year’s retention election is particularly important. Fair and impartial court supporters in our state—including Governor Haslam—are concerned about media reports that the three Supreme Court justices seeking retention in Tennessee might become the targets of heavily financed campaigns organized by groups outside the state. There have been reports of such campaigns targeting high court justices in several other states across our nation.

What does merit retention mean? [Read more…]