Editorial 11/28: Politics at the THP

The Commercial Appeal
November 28, 2005

Once again, Gov. Phil Bredesen is in damage control mode over the appearance of political favoritism at the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

This is about as embarrassing as it gets for a governor who has been aboard the speeding ethics reform train for months.

Making the case for a full investigation of the role that politics plays at the THP is state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who wants legislative hearings to review the agency's promotion practices.

Norris is a possible candidate for governor, but, still, an investigation seems unavoidable. The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville last week reported that two-thirds of THP promotions under Bredesen's administration went to officers who donated to his campaign, or had family members or political patrons who did. The newspaper found officers with higher promotion scores passed over.

The Tennessean last August reported that two West Tennessee THP sergeants were promoted to lieutenant after their testimony helped persuade a judge to drop a driving while intoxicated charge against a politically well-connected 31-year-old Halls, Tenn., man.

Several members of his family carried "honorary captain" badges in the THP which have been awarded for decades to political insiders, campaign donors and celebrities in a tradition that the governor eventually put a stop to.

The defendant, the grandson of the woman who headed Bredesen's 2002 campaign in Lauderdale County, was later indicted by a grand jury. Still, the case hinted at an intolerable level of political influence on the work of a state law enforcement agency.

A recent e-mail from the governor to state employees stressed the importance of "dedication and hard work" in promotions. The governor sounds reassuring, but this is a case that calls for a full exploration of the facts, wherever they might lead.