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August 27, 2007

Who I'm Not.

Billy Blades/WorstMayorEver.com is not:

1. Bill Colrus or anyone at the Chattanooga Pulse
2. Anyone at the Times Free Press
3. Josiah Roe or anyone at Coptix
4. Any of Missy Crutchfield's former lovers
5. Any of Missy Crutchfield's directors, producers or body doubles
6. Missy Crutchfield's hair dresser
7. Ron Littlefield's former political opponent(s)
8. Ron Littlefields former allies, who have been screwed over by him and want revenge

Though all of those people may have problems with this administration, I'm not them. They're not me.

Billy Blades is a pissed-off citizen who is disgusted by corruption and abuse in government, especially the administration of Ron Littlefield.

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August 11, 2007

Mission Accompliced.

The Times Free Press has followed up the Worst Mayor Ever Worldwide Exclusive report on the Littlefield Transcripts (TM Billy Blades) by publishing a story about, er, the Littlefield Transcripts.

When the TFP asked him about the situation, Alberto Gonzales, Ron Littlefield claimed that he couldn't recall if Ward introduced him to the union bosses at SEIU. Mind you, the transcripts reveal that this union connection had never 'played' in Chattanooga before, so Ron would have been meeting him for the first time in 2005. It's not like it would have been years ago in some smoky union hall. It would have been recently and in the transcript Ward says he was going to handle this introduction himself. That might ring a bell with most people.

When asked if they believed Ron's tale of Instant Onset Amnesia, even a little bit, Everybody In The World Since Forever, said 'No.'

Former SEIU boss Don Driscoll 'couldn't be reached.'

Can you imagine poor Ron, when he got the phone call from the reporter scrambling to come up with something to distance himself from the government documents linking him to convicted felons?!? Of course, all he could only come up with was the "I Don't Recall" gambit.

That tactic, which, since its rise to glory with Reagan during the Iran-Contra hearings to its pathetic death from overuse recently in Congressional testimony by Alberto Gonzalez is now tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Things are looking bleak for Littlefield. He used the unions for money, votes and volunteers during the campaign. Then he gave them lip service, so he could appear to be paying them back quid pro quo (I'll detail an example in a future post), and then he moved on when he didn't need them. Now the unions are feeling they were set up and they're not happy about it. Well, at least they know how the citizens of Chattanooga feel.

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August 10, 2007

The Littlefield Transcript: Hate the 'Player' and the Game.

Well, here it is--the transcript we thought we’d never see is now a public document. Apparently, you just have to ask and convince the court that the public will be served by its release, or so said the person who sent it to me. I believe that standard was met here.

So the scenario, as best I can tell from the transcript, is this: the FBI Guy, Chris McGrue, is sitting in Ward’s office and he calls Charles Love, who’s out of town. FBI Guy then hands his mobile (I assume) to Ward. The hilarious aspect of this is that the call takes place on an FBI-owned mobile phone. Sometimes a dirty politician just can’t catch a break. Then again, maybe we the people finally caught one. The call takes place March 7, 2005, which falls between the March 1 election and the April 12 runoff. Strategery was afoot.

I want to be clear that Ron Littlefield is not a party to this call. He is, however, it’s primary topic.

The Players:
Charles – Convicted felon and notorious bagman, Charles ‘Year-and-a-Day’ Love
Ward – Former Senator and convicted felon, Brushy Mountain Ward 'I-Meant-To-Say-Guilty' Crutchfield
FBI Guy - Federal agent and hero to the masses Chris 'Here-Use-My-Phone' McGrue
[…] - unintelligible
{…} - Billy Blades comments or edits. All bold type is my emphasis.

Charles -Hello, Charles
FBI Guy - Charles, this is Chris McGrue. How are ya?
Charles - Hello
FBI Guy - Charles?
Charles - Yes,
FBI Guy - This is Chris McGrue
Charles - Hey, Chris.
FBI Guy - How are ya?
Charles - I’m doin’ fine.
FBI Guy - Ah, got us a meeting, ah, with the comptroller at eight o’clock on Wednesday morning. {I’m assuming this is Operation Tennessee Waltz related business.}
Charles - Good.
FBI Guy - Here in Ward’s office.
Charles - That’ll be good.
FBI Guy - And hold on. He wants to speak with you just a second.
Charles - OK
Ward - Charles?
Charles - Senator.
Ward – How you doin; buddy?
Charles – I’m doin’ fine. How are you doin’?
Ward – Well, I’m tryin’ to figure out where the situa…, what is the situation regarding this goddamn mayor’s race? {Is that kind of language OK, here on Chattablogs.com, Josiah? Then again, what’s worse, god-swears, or bribery and corruption? Toss up.}
Charles – (laughs)
Ward – I, I’m not askin’ you who’s gonna win or lose. I mean what…
Charles-Okay.
Ward – How are we, how are we playin’ is what I wanna know.
Charles- Well…
Ward – I’m not mad about anything. I told, I told you I’d help you. I’m not, you, you{re} not obligated to do a damn thing. I just wanna know where the players are.
Charles – Well, the, the players are kinda’ split.
Ward – Okay
Charles – You know there’s {former city councilman, Yusuf} Hakeem and, ah…
Ward – I went down, I went down to the damn, you know that dedication to the gym, made a speech…
Charles – Yeah, yeah. Hakeem and , ah, Duke {Franklin, current city councilman} stayed out of it till after the elections, so I don’t know where they are now, but I think that…
Ward –Well, Duke’s still lookin’ for money. I tell you where he is.
Charles- Yeah.
Ward – I didn’t say that.
Charles – (laughs)
Ward – I didn’t say that.
Charles – (still laughing)
Ward - Duke was down to see me. {Well, if you need some money, you go to the bank.}
Charles – Okay.
Ward – Alright.
Charles – Ah, but, ah, yeah, you got {Irv} Overton and, and, and, ah…
Ward – Overt, Overton and what?
Charles – You got Overton, Joanne {Favors}, and, ah, Debra Matthews…
Ward – Do, Donut, what?
Charles – And Donut, they’re all in Ann Coulter’s camp.
Ward – Wait a minute, now run this through me again now. I, I know that…
Charles – Do…Donuts…
Ward – I know Donut’s there.
Charles – Irv Overton.
Ward – Irvin is over there, and so is, ah, his buddy Ruben Lawrence and Lamar Partridge…
Charles – Kruger
Ward – And, ah, the other…
Charles – yeah, they’re, they’re all in the Coulter camp. You got…
Ward – Got, got, go, go whatever his name is, you know Mason, Gerald Mason.
Charles – Yeah, Gerald Mason. Then you have, ah…
Ward – What’d you say, Debra Matthews ain’t there though.
Charles – Yeah, I thought she was.
Ward – I don’t think so. Well, maybe she is. You tell me that, I don’t know.
Charles – And then you have…
Ward – Debra, Debra’s got, havin’ some more problem with her heart, but she’s doing alright. She’s okay.
Charles – That’s good, that’s good.
Ward – She’s runnin’ her race. I, I wouldn’t…
Charles – Yeah, she’s yeah, she runnin’ her race, so I guess whoever helps her, she’ll help them, I guess.
Ward – Yeah, I, I think that’s about it. I think you analyzed it well.
Charles – Yeah. But, ah, ah, but you got Moses {Freeman}, and he got Cotton. You got Leamon {Pierce}, and those are the kinda, the major players to beat. They’re in {the} Littlefield camp. Yeah.
Ward – Are you playin’ in the thing? {They use the term ‘playin’ a lot. It’s like some creepy shorthand and my stomach rolls every time I read it. Guess that's what they mean by 'player.' So that would make me a Player Hater. Ya heard.}
Charles – I’m not playin’ yet. I, I’m gonna have a discussion with Littlefield when I get back in town.
Ward – Well, Littlefield really needs you.
Charles – Okay.
Ward – I’m gonna recommend to Littlefield that he try to work somethin’ out with you. {So, what do you think? Did Littlefield 'work something out' with Charles Love? On Aug. 20, 2004 Charles Love mentioned to E-Cycle reps (that would be the FBI undercover) that he had worked in the past bearing gifts to legislators. My point is that this is what he did. It's who he was. It's not like he volunteered for campaigns and stuffed envelopes. He 'played'.}
Charles – Okay, that’ll work.
Ward – I think Littlefield can win the race because, mainly because I think the damn, ah, people up around Hixson, when you look at the deals, I, that’s where Littlefield can pick up. He ran good up there. I believe in playin’ strengths, not weakness. {‘Damn Hixson People!' Love it. Then again, they did help put Littlefield in office, so maybe that’s an apt name.}
Charles – Yes, yeah.
Ward – So he’s already pretty strong, and then {Dan} Johnson’s people, there, there’s where they’re strong.
Charles – Yep, that’s …
Ward – So I think they are, I think you oughta concentrate on strength.
Charles – Yeah, yeah.
Ward – Of course, Rayburn {Traughber’s} in there for, for, ah…
Charles – Yeah. Coulter.
Ward – Coulter, there was, yeah, anyway. So you know, I don’t, I, I, does he still…with Napoleon Dawson like he always used to be?
Charles – Yeah, yeah. (laughs)
Ward – Okay.
Charles – Yep, yep
Ward – You know I {was} chairman 14 years. I understand the deal.
Charles – Okay, okay.
Ward – I’m just, I’m tryin’ to figure up who might have a shot at it? You’re about it, tell you the truth, you’re…
Charles – Yeah, I’m, I’m, I’m ‘bout the only one out here ain’t doin’ nothin’.
Ward – You’re at a premium, and, ah, they, they oughta’ both be lookin’ for you, but I think, I ‘preciate you talkin’ to ‘em.
Charles – Okay.
Ward – I’m, I’m gonna’ talk to this, I’m gonna’ talk to this guy, we’ll work somethin’ out. Don’t tell them that though, ‘cause I’m workin’ this on my own. {Uh, huh. Is that 'workin' or 'playin', I can't keep up.}
Charles – Okay.
Ward – But I got this, I got this guy that’s got a lotta’, lot of, ah, labor funds.
Charles – Okay.
Ward – And he’s new. He hadn’t ever worked in Chattanooga before.
Charles – Okay, alright.
Ward – It’s uh he’s … a service worker. {Go here, and then go here. The union in question is undoubtedly the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, that is now organizing city employees with Littlefield's blessing.} That’s the only union in the country that’s growin’.
Charles – Okay.
Ward - The only one.
Charles – Well, I can see why.
Ward – Rest of ‘em are sittin’ on their ass and losin’ members.
Charles – yeah, yeah.
Ward – So they gotta’ get in with money and muscles. They wanna’ play. {"Money and muscles." Do you really need a more graphic wake-up call?}
Charles – Yeah, yep.
Ward – I’m tired of just layin’ around and everybody else […] and I get all the hell, and and nothin’ else, so…
Charles – Yeah, yeah.
Ward – I just would like to know what you finally decide. I’m not tryin’ to tell you what to do. I’m just sayin’, when you decide, I need to know, ‘cause {if} you{'re} gon{na}’ be with him, then we can play together on some stuff. {Seriously. What do you think Ward means here.}
Charles – Okay.
Ward – If you’re gonna be Little…, I think Littlefield’s got a hell of a shot, but right now, I don’t, I don’t find a lot of people excited about either one.
Charles – I don’t either. You know […] was before the election. I don’t, did anybody do anything this weekend? I wasn’t in town.
Ward – I wasn’t involved either because, hell, they didn’t, they didn’t come talk to me. I just like Ron personally. I know him personally and I like him. His word is good.
Charles – Okay.
Ward – But hell, you gotta get his word. I don’t wanna talk to Dale Mabee. {No kidding. Ugh.} I wanna to talk to Ron.
Charles – Yeah, I do too.
Ward - That other guy, you know he’d, I believed if I can’t talk to the candidate, I ain’t real interested in playin’ the game.
Charles – Yeah, yeah.
Ward – So you need to be satisfied with your relationship with him.
Charles – Okay. Well…
Ward – And when are ya’ll comin’ over here—Wednesday?
Charles – Wednesday, yeah,
Ward – At eight o’clock.
Charles – Yeah
Ward – And you gonna come where?
Charles – We’ll come to your office.
Ward – Okay, good.
Charles – Yeah, yeah.
Ward – Alright, I’ll probably talk to you tomorrow. In the meantime, see what you can think over. We might have a meeting down there and bring this guy down as, that’s got the funds and everything.
Charles – Okay, I’ll do that.
Ward – […] If you don’t {get} nothin’ else, you get a friend for the deal next year. {There goes my stomach again.}
Charles – That’s right.
Ward – You oughta know him, then, hell, you work your own deal with him. {And we just slipped from the lingo to something more straightforward.}
Charles – Okay.
Ward – Alright.
Charles – Alright.
Ward – But I’m not, I don’t wanna run the whole show, cause then every son-of-a-bitch saw me, and I’m tryin to practice law and make a living.
Charles – Hopefully…
Ware – I, I, I don’t wanna do that. I just wanna figure out what we oughta do.
Charles – Okay.
Ward – I think I’ve about figured it out, but…
Charles – Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ward – See we, we, we, ah, tell me about Debra. You worked okay with her?
Charles – Yeah, I work okay with Debra.
Ward - I believe we can get, I believe can get her because, hell, her race is down there where Littlefield ran fairly in the city. Only precincts he didn’t run real good in was St. Elmo. {Shout out to the ‘Mo!}
Charles – Well, that’s what I’m sayin’. Debra, if she can, if she’d line up right, she can win, she can win that City Council and carry somebody with her.
Ward – Right.
Charles – Yeah.
Ward – She could be very important in that race.
Charles – Yeah, yeah. That’s right.
Ward – In other words, he needs her.
Charles – Yeah, he does.
Ward – And the other people, don’t really need her.
Charles – yeah, yeah.
Ward – So I, I we’ll think about that and talk about it, ah, Wednesday.
Charles – Okay, we’ll do that. I’ll be over there tomorrow.
Ward – And we’ll get a meeting in my office down in Chattanooga, you and I and this guy.
Charles – Okay, alright.
Ward – We talk about now, and then we’ll talk about you in the future.
Charles – That works.
Ward – Okay.
Charles – Alright.
Ward – Bye, bye.

End of taped conversation.

By my reading, Ward Crutchfield was in league with Littlefield and they were recruiting Charles Love to help get the African-American vote for Ron. That in itself, certainly isn’t illegal. I’m sure the Coulter campaign had a strategy for the African American vote too. But all this talk of ‘playing’ by two men who were subsequently convicted of bribery and extortion, leads me to believe that all the talk of ‘rolling the inner-city vote’ that I’ve heard my entire life here in Chattanooga seems less like urban legend, and more like reality.

I come away from this transcript with the feeling that ‘playing’ happens all the time. I’m dismayed about the caliber of public officials that we have here in Chattanooga. This blog was started because of the sleazy, win-at-all-costs tactics that Ron Littlefield and Dale Mabee employed during the 2005 mayoral campaign. But Operation Tennessee Waltz has pulled the curtain open and the back room is now there for us to see. As embarrassing as the Waltz has been, I'm really glad it happened. I hope that Chattanogans are paying attention.

The raw, unedited document is here.

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